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UBS Worry Barometer 2025
What is the current situation regarding the OASI pension scheme and what does its future look like? The UBS Worry Barometer 2025 provides important insights to help organize your retirement planning and protect your finances.
The Swiss are worried about their retirement planning. This is one of the findings of this year’s survey by gfs.bern. The responses to this survey are summarized in the annual UBS Worry Barometer. The study regularly addresses topics that that are top of mind in Switzerland – as well as illustrating their development and identifying future opportunities . Once again, there is a clear picture in 2025: with a response rate of 30%, retirement planning comes in third place, behind concerns about healthcare and its financing, environmental protection and climate change.
One reason why people are worried is that they don’t know how much money will be available to each pensioner and how pensions will be financed. The fact that people are getting older creates an imbalance between the generation paying contributions and the generation receiving a pension.
The bar chart compares the twenty most important concerns in Switzerland in 2025 and 2024. For each topic, the frequencies for both years are shown as separate bars. The bars for the topic of OASI/retirement provision are highlighted in color so their development is particularly easy to see.
Calls for pension reform have been getting louder and louder for years. Many experts and members of the public would like to see a rethink of funding and would like more money to be made available to pensioners.
Retirement planning in Switzerland is and remains an issue that provokes an emotional response, but it is discussed objectively and responsibly. Political and economic stakeholders are working together to find solutions, and previous changes have shown that the Swiss pension system is flexible and adaptable – despite the challenges it faces.
Speaking of change, the reference age for women is gradually being brought into line with that of men, so that they can remain in gainful employment until the age of 65. To further strengthen funding, the Federal Council proposed raising VAT by 0.7 percentage points; however, this measure would only stabilize the OASI until 2030.
It’s worth taking matters into your own hands and – regardless of any future reforms – actively taking care of your own pension planning as much as you can. It’s important to check whether you have any contribution gaps and calculate the assets you will have available when you reach the reference age.
Our life expectancy is constantly rising, which opens up new opportunities. Longevity means living longer, being active and healthy for longer and adapting your pension planning accordingly. People who incorporate this prospect into their personal planning at an early stage give themselves more leeway for the future.
There is no wrong time: the sooner you start, the sooner you can get closer to your pension planning goals. UBS can help you thanks to the expertise of experienced specialists and proven pension planning tools. UBS can work with you to offer solutions that will strengthen your financial security in the long term – so that you can shape your life exactly the way you want it.
You can check your retirement assets on your individual account statement. The income subject to contributions, contribution periods and care credits are recorded on your statement each year. It therefore also indicates whether any contribution gaps have arisen and forms the basis for calculating your OASI pension.
Your monthly pension will be reduced by 2.3% for each missing contribution year. That means that it’s worth closing any gaps. Gaps can be caused by time spent abroad, the birth of a child or unemployment. Under certain conditions, gaps in contributions can be closed up to five years after they have arisen by making additional payments.
It may be worth postponing retirement and working beyond the statutory retirement age. This will allow you to continue to pay money into your OASI pension. Retirement can be postponed for a maximum of five years.
Pillar 3 represents voluntary private retirement savings for old age. You can use pillar 3 to close potential pension gaps or to build up capital for home ownership or self-employment. You can also save on taxes: you can deduct the amount you pay into your pillar 3a account each year from your taxable income for the same year. Building up private savings is another option, especially for younger generations.
The UBS Worry Barometer 2025 makes one thing clear: pension planning is and remains one of the population’s major preoccupations. Once again, the UBS Worry Barometer is a reliable indicator that shows what is top of mind in Switzerland.
The barometer also pinpoints areas where there is a need for action and potential for development. Last but not least, UBS Year Ahead provides well-founded answers, sometimes to questions that are causing concern in Switzerland. The study also outlines economic scenarios and opportunities in a challenging environment for the coming year and beyond. UBS can help you to strengthen your pension planning and ensure financial protection for the future at an early stage – so that you are well prepared in the long term.
