According to forecasts published by gsf.bern and the media, Swiss voters narrowly supported raising the retirement age for women to 65.

Published projections show an approval rate of 51%.

After two failed attempts in 2004 and 2017, the authorities look set to garner enough votes to “stabilize” the pension system, which is under a lot of pressure as life expectancy increases and the baby boom generation begins to reach retirement age. .

The most controversial part of the proposed reform sees women work on par with men until age 65 before they can receive a full pension. Women retire at 64.

Last year, Parliament approved major measures to reform this pension system, including an increase in the value-added tax (it was approved by 56 percent in Sunday’s referendum). But left-wing parties and unions denounced the reform, saying it “comes at the expense of women” and subsequently pushed for a referendum.

Opponents of the reform emphasized the continuing inequality in wages between men and women, considering it unfair to raise the retirement age for women without addressing this inequality.

In 2020, women in Switzerland as a whole received 35% less pension than their male counterparts, according to the Swiss Ministry of Economy.

A referendum was also held to ban intensive animal husbandry, which would eliminate factory farms in a country that is still predominantly rural, although the contribution of the agricultural sector is small. It was rejected by 63%.

The Swiss considered the welfare of these animals respected in the country.