Swiss Voters Approve Bigger Pensions, Reject Retirement Age Increase

Swiss voters approved a plan to raise pensions, marking the first time in the country's history that social benefits received an increase through a plebiscite. The proposal to introduce a 13th annual payout to pensioners was supported by 58.2% of the electorate, while a second initiative to raise the retirement age was rejected. The approval, which will increase pensions by about 8%, is set to send the government scrambling to find the estimated additional annual cost of 4.1 billion Swiss francs, likely requiring an increase in value-added tax.