Credit Suisse Worry Barometer 2018: Retirement Provision Is the Main Concern, Unemployment Falls in the Rankings
Nothing worries the Swiss more than retirement provision, and they expect the political establishment to come up with consensus-oriented solutions to secure the future of the
In 2018, Credit Suisse once again commissioned the research institute gfs.bern to conduct a survey to identify the principal worries of the Swiss, as well as their perception of the country's key identifying features. For many years, unemployment was by far the biggest worry for the Swiss, and it still occupied second place in 2017 - after retirement provision replaced it as the greatest worry among the Swiss. This year, however, unemployment experienced a fall of 22 percentage points, and it now ranks just sixth in the list of the nation's main concerns.
Retirement provision and healthcare/health insurance now rank first and second in the list of Swiss worries, as stated by 45 percent and 41 percent of respondents, respectively. The issue of healthcare/health insurance experienced a rise of 15 percentage points in 2018, the strongest increase of any worry. When asked to name the most urgent political priority, the issue of
"As far as the Swiss are concerned, retirement provision is by far the most important topic that politicians need to change. The population expects clear, consensus-oriented solutions in this area," stated
"Given the emergence of healthcare/health insurance as the second most important concern, it is clear that domestic issues have a particularly prominent place in the Swiss consciousness at present. Another striking development is the fact that environmental issues reappeared in this year's list of the top five worries," stated Manuel Rybach, Global Head of Public Affairs and Policy at Credit Suisse.
Immigration concerns rank behind retirement provision and health. Concerns about refugees/asylum (31 percent) in particular have risen sharply compared to the 2017 survey (up 12 percentage points), and they now occupy fourth place in the list of worries. Concerns relating to foreigners (37 percent) once again came third in the rankings, with a rise of two percentage points.
Retirement provision: a problem for society as a whole
The in-depth section of the survey devoted to retirement provision shows that respondents view the principal worry -
When it comes to measures that should be taken to secure the future of the AHV system, 60 percent of Swiss are in favor of an increase of 1 percent in value-added tax over the next five years. The solution of making the retirement age more flexible - in line with changing life expectancy - is considered acceptable by 52 percent, while 48 percent are in favor of raising the retirement age for women to 65. In contrast, there is little enthusiasm for measures such as reducing existing pensions (18 percent) or increasing the retirement age to 67 (17 percent).
Little concern about impact of digitalization on job security
The current debate over the disappearance of jobs as a result of digitalization does not appear to be of great concern to the Swiss. Compared to last year's survey, it is not only unemployment that has fallen in the list of Swiss worries: 75 percent now think it is unlikely that their job will be replaced by automation involving robots, new technologies, or intelligent software within the next 20 years. A combined total of 85 percent of respondents believe their own jobs are very secure or somewhat secure.
Trust: Security up, free newspapers and Internet down
The Swiss have confidence in their country's institutions like almost no other national population. A total of 61 percent trust the
National sense of belonging rises, as does interest in politics
Despite a decline of 11 percentage points compared to 2017, the Swiss sense of national pride remains at a relatively high level: 79 percent of respondents stated that they were proud to be Swiss. The national sense of belonging also remains strong. When asked what geographical entity they considered themselves part of primarily and secondarily, 53 percent of Swiss cited their country, followed by the canton where they live (48 percent) and their home municipality (35 percent). There is no distinct sense of European belonging within
Despite the decline in trust in political parties this year, there is also some positive news for the Swiss political establishment: 29 percent are "very" interested in political issues, with a further 45 percent "somewhat" interested. This is the highest level of interest in politics ever recorded by the survey. Swiss citizens seem to be aware that important matters are currently under discussion and they are clearly willing to help work on finding solutions.
Economic situation: Concerns over new poverty on the rise
Compared to 2017, many more respondents categorized
Overview: Key insights from the
* The biggest worry of all for the Swiss is retirement provision/AHV, as mentioned by 45 percent of all respondents. Which political objective should be assigned the highest priority? Here too, AHV is the most commonly cited answer.
* 86 percent of respondents hold the view that everyone should contribute to securing the future of the AHV system. They are satisfied with the "three pillar" model: 72 percent believe that it works well and should be retained in its current form. 60 percent of Swiss voters are in favor of a value-added tax increase of 1 percent over the next five years.
* With a score of 41 percent, the theme of healthcare/health insurance has risen to second place in the list of Swiss worries. At 15 percentage points, this was the largest year-on-year rise of any concern. On the question of political priorities, healthcare/health insurance also ranked second with a 13 percent score.
* Between 2003 and 2016, unemployment reigned supreme as
* For the fourth year in succession, the trust rankings are headed by the
* While there is evidence of a decline in national pride this year, it remains at a comparatively high level. Looking back, 73 percent of respondents were "proud" or "very proud" of their country in 2004, a figure that had risen to 82 percent by 2010 and as much as 90 percent last year. This year, 79 percent of respondents stated that they were proud to be Swiss.
* 92 percent of Swiss consider their personal economic circumstances to be "satisfactory," "good," or even "very good." This is in line with responses to the question of how satisfied respondents are with their lives. On a scale of 0 to 10, 89 percent rate their lives at a level of 5 or higher, and 42 percent at a level of 8 or higher.
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