Act on the old-age insurance

1. Zug✓ Yes majority, Yes share 65.0%, Turnout 58%
2. Nidwalden✓ Yes majority, Yes share 64.7%, Turnout 57%
3. Appenzell Innerrhoden✓ Yes majority, Yes share 64.5%, Turnout 52%
4. Obwalden✓ Yes majority, Yes share 60.8%, Turnout 59%
5. Schwyz✓ Yes majority, Yes share 60.5%, Turnout 57%
6. Lucerne✓ Yes majority, Yes share 59.4%, Turnout 56%
7. Appenzell Ausserrhoden✓ Yes majority, Yes share 59.0%, Turnout 56%
8. St. Gallen✓ Yes majority, Yes share 57.7%, Turnout 51%
9. Thurgau✓ Yes majority, Yes share 57.7%, Turnout 52%
10. Uri✓ Yes majority, Yes share 57.1%, Turnout 50%
11. Graubünden✓ Yes majority, Yes share 56.2%, Turnout 49%
12. Zurich✓ Yes majority, Yes share 55.8%, Turnout 51%
13. Aargau✓ Yes majority, Yes share 55.4%, Turnout 50%
14. Glarus✓ Yes majority, Yes share 51.8%, Turnout 46%
15. Basel-Landschaft✓ Yes majority, Yes share 51.0%, Turnout 52%
16. Bern✓ Yes majority, Yes share 50.4%, Turnout 54%
17. Schaffhausen✗ No majority, Yes share 50.0%, Turnout 68%
18. Solothurn✗ No majority, Yes share 49.8%, Turnout 51%
19. Basel-Stadt✗ No majority, Yes share 46.8%, Turnout 54%
20. Valais✗ No majority, Yes share 45.0%, Turnout 50%
21. Ticino✗ No majority, Yes share 42.9%, Turnout 52%
22. Fribourg✗ No majority, Yes share 39.5%, Turnout 53%
23. Vaud✗ No majority, Yes share 37.9%, Turnout 53%
24. Geneva✗ No majority, Yes share 37.2%, Turnout 47%
25. Neuchâtel✗ No majority, Yes share 35.5%, Turnout 48%
26. Jura✗ No majority, Yes share 29.1%, Turnout 53%

✓ Yes majority · ✗ No majority · Turnout %

Sources: Federal Statistical Office (FSO); older votes: Swissvotes, Année Politique Suisse, University of Bern; map base: FSO, GEOSTAT

Cantons by their majority language: Fribourg and Valais count as French-speaking, Bern and Graubünden as German-speaking.

Yes or no?

What exactly is it about?

The AHV is the state pension insurance. According to the Federal Council, its income will soon no longer be enough to pay all pensions: more people are retiring and pensions are paid for ever longer. The law is the second part of the AHV 21 reform and is linked to the VAT increase. If either of the two proposals is rejected, the whole reform fails. The law introduces the same retirement age of 65 for women and men, now called the “reference age”. The women’s age rises from 64 to 65 in four steps. Women born between 1961 and 1969 receive compensation measures: those who draw their pension early face a smaller reduction, and those who do not draw it early receive a supplement of 12.50 to 160 francs a month. The pension can be drawn between ages 63 and 70, also only in part. Those who work beyond 65 can, under certain conditions, improve their pension. Parliament has passed the law. Because a referendum was called against it, the voters decide on it. Only a majority of the voters is needed.

What is disputed?

The Federal Council and Parliament recommend a yes. They see the reform as a compromise between extra income and savings that secures pensions for about ten years. They consider aligning the retirement age justified, because women are better educated than before, mostly work and live longer than men; compensation measures cushion the increase. They point to the incentive to work longer, to more flexible retirement, and to the fact that waiting makes the reform costlier for future generations. The referendum committee recommends a no. It argues that the reform saves one-sidedly at the expense of women, who already receive pensions a third lower. It adds that retirement age 67 for everyone is already on the agenda. Older job seekers have poor chances, it says, and more people end up in long-term unemployment or on social assistance. It states that the AHV is sound and that the gloomy forecasts never came true.

Party recommendations