The Political Consensus in the 10th and 11th Pension Reforms in Switzerland

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze, from institutional and historical perspectives, the policy decision-making processes in the 10th Basic Old Age/Survivors’s Pension （AHV）, adopted by referendum in 1995, and the 11th Basic Old Age/Survivor’s Pension （AHV）. Switzerland has seen two major waves of reforms towards welfare reduction : a neo-liberal wave from the early 1990s, followed in the late 1990s by pressure for social welfare reduction by a surging extreme-right party. Contrary to those waves, it is shown that there is continued social consensus on maintaining expenditures to support pensions, and the 10th Basic Old Age/Survivor’s Pension included the world’s first gender equal individual pension, which was an important innovation. This paper examines why such a social consensus was possible, paying special attention to such distinctive Swiss political characteristics as veto players and a political culture that emphasizes consensus among parties and actors. In addition, I point out the shared characteristic of ‘division of issues’ as a democratic element in the policymaking process.