In brief

Biodiversity, i.e. the variety of all living creatures and habitats, has declined in Switzerland. The appearance and character of our landscapes, villages and towns are also under threat. Therefore, the federal government and the cantons protect habitats, endangered species and valuable landscapes, towns and villages. They maintain conservation areas and promote biodiversity in agriculture and elsewhere. The federal government invests around CHF 600 million a year to preserve biodiversity. The Confederation and cantons are also implementing an action plan to promote biodiversity.

For the initiators, these measures do not go far enough. They also want to protect the natural world, the landscape and architectural heritage. The initiative calls for more money and more protected areas for biodiversity. And it wants to make the cantons in particular more responsible for preserving landscapes and attractive locations. In addition, the characteristic features of habitats, landscapes and other places worth protecting should be preserved undiminished. Ultimately, the initiative aims to preserve nature, the landscape and architectural heritage outside protected areas.

In brief

For many people, an occupational pension (2nd pillar) is an important supplement to an OASI (AHV/AVS) pension (1st pillar). During their working lives, their salary contributions and the contributions from their employers accumulate as retirement assets in a pension fund. These assets will eventually be used to pay an occupational pension. Up to a certain income, the law requires a minimum amount of pension to be paid out for each franc saved. However, because of low returns on the financial markets and rising life expectancy, pensions in this mandatory part of the occupational pension system are no longer adequately financed. This particularly affects pension funds that only offer the statutory minimum or a little more. There is also a second problem: If you do not earn very much, you will not receive an occupational pension when you retire, or your pension will not amount to much. This affects a disproportionate number of women, because they often work part-time or in low-wage sectors.

The reform provides for measures to finance future pensions more securely. In addition, many low earners will receive a higher pension when they come to retire:They and their employers will pay higher contributions every month than they do today. Most employees have a pension fund that offers significantly more than the statutory minimum benefits. As a result, the reform will have little impact on them. The pensions paid to people who have already retired will not be affected by the reform.

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