"Money missing for pensions" Financial industry earns over 67 billion with our pension fund money

The financial industry has earned around CHF 67.6 billion from pension fund assets over the past 10 years. This is according to a new analysis by the trade unions.

The referendum campaign on the reform of occupational pension provision (BVG) in Switzerland is in full swing. While the population decides on the reform on September 22, supporters and opponents are facing each other, arguing with contradictory figures.

The rising administrative costs of pension funds in particular are coming into focus. An exclusive analysis by the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), which is available to "Blick", shows that the financial industry has earned CHF 67.6 billion from employees' pension fund assets over the last ten years.

Critics such as SGB social insurance expert Gabriela Medici emphasize that these costs ultimately harm pensioners, as there is less money left over for pensions. She says: "In the end, this money is not enough to pay the insured a decent pension." Medici also criticizes the rising administrative costs, which reached a record high of CHF 8.2 billion in 2022.

Returns are also a decisive factor

The pension fund association ASIP, on the other hand, points out that the costs are low in an international comparison. "For a valid analysis, the costs must be measured in relation to the assets under management," Lukas Müller-Brunner, Director of the Swiss Pension Fund Association, told Blick

In addition, it is not only the level of costs that is decisive, but also the returns generated. According to Müller-Brunner, these were so high in the 2021 stock market year that they exceeded the administrative costs for a decade.

Vote on September 22SRG poll shows a relative yes for BVG reform - other poll predicts no

Nevertheless, the trade unions see a need for action. They criticize the increasing influence of profit-oriented players on the pension fund system. Medici is calling for greater efficiency and savings in administrative costs in order to safeguard the pensions of those insured.

She says: "If everyone were committed to cost efficiency in asset management costs and not to the interests of the public limited companies behind the BVG foundations, around two billion francs could be saved annually for the benefit of insured persons."