Tag Archive: Personal finance

Budget busting burgers – Swiss franc still the most overvalued

2018-01-23

by

2018-01-23

McDonalds
The Economist has just published its January 2018 Big Mac index, a light-hearted measure of whether currencies are under or overvalued. The underlying assumption is that a Big Mac is the same whether bought in Kiev or Chur, so any price difference must be due to the exchange rate.

Read More »

Swiss fact: health insurance premiums cover only 37percent of Swiss healthcare costs

2018-01-23

by

2018-01-23

Switzerland
Figures published in 2017 show that only 37% of Swiss healthcare costs were covered by basic compulsory health insurance premiums. The remaining cost was covered by the government (20%), accident and social insurance (10%), private complementary health insurance (7%), charity (1%) and out-of-pocket spending by individuals (26%).

Read More »

Swiss rents could fall 10%, says UBS

2018-01-19

by

2018-01-19

Building
In a report published today entitled: rents losing altitude, UBS says asking rents for apartments will probably drop by up to 10% over the next three years. Competition in the rental market is getting even fiercer. By mid-2017, 2.4% of all rental apartments were vacant. This level was last exceeded in 1998, when 2.8% of rental apartments stood empty, says the bank.

Read More »

Swiss VAT rate to fall in 2018

2018-01-02

by

2018-01-02

Toscawhi Dreamstime
The current rate of 8% is set to drop on 1 January 2018. Temporarily increased by 0.4% in 2011 to shore up funding for disability welfare, the rate will revert to 7.7%. The 0.1% difference between the new rate and pre 2011 rate of 7.6% is a new increase that will be used to help finance rail infrastructure.

Read More »

How much more you need to earn in Switzerland to breakeven

2017-12-24

by

2017-12-24

Recently published international price comparison numbers show just how expensive life is in Switzerland. The price of a standard basket of items, including food, clothing, accommodation, healthcare, transport, education and other regular expenses, was far higher in Switzerland than in the rest of Europe.

Read More »

Poverty risk high for Swiss pensioners despite high spending

2017-12-17

by

2017-12-17

Wallet
A recent OECD study, which looks at retirement, shows the relatively large amount spent on pensioners in Switzerland. Switzerland consumes 11% of its GDP on retirees, compared to 9% across OECD nations. Despite this high spending, the risk of poverty is higher in Switzerland than across the OECD. According to the organisation, 19% of those over 64 in Switzerland are at risk of poverty, compared to an OECD average of 13%.

Read More »

Large email hack reported – Swiss agency tool lets you check if your account was compromised

2017-12-10

by

2017-12-10

It’s the question lurking in many people’s minds, especially during the frenzy of online Christmas shopping: has my email account been hacked? MELANI has got your back – up to a point. The Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI), is part of the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service.

Read More »

Airbnb charges some customers more than others, particularly the Swiss

2017-12-08

by

2017-12-08

AirBNB
Many Swiss residents travel to neighbouring eurozone countries for their holidays. These countries are close and Swiss francs go far there. However, to get the most out of a strong currency you need a good exchange rate. If a Swiss resident presenting euro cash at a checkout in Germany or France was told they couldn’t pay in euros because they live in Switzerland – “I’m sorry sir but you live in Switzerland, you must pay in Swiss francs at our...

Read More »

Swiss village offering to pay people to live there inundated with applications

2017-12-03

by

2017-12-03

After the Swiss mountain village of Albinen hatched a plan to pay parents (CHF 25,000 each) and children (CHF 10,000 each) to move there, it has been inundated with applicants. Articles about the offer have been published by Time, The Sunday Times, The Sun, El Pais, and many other publications. Rather than celebrating, the picturesque town’s administration is unhappy. It published a statement on its website accusing the media of false reports that...

Read More »

Amazon coming to Switzerland

2017-12-01

by

2017-12-01

Amazon Prime
According to the newspaper Bilanz, Amazon has signed an agreement with Swiss post to provide rapid customs clearance. The head of postal customs, Felix Stierli, confirmed discussions with the company.A maximum customs clearance time of 3 hours will allow 24-hour delivery, one element of Amazon’s Prime offer.

Read More »

Where an average Swiss household spends its income

2017-11-25

by

2017-11-25

Swiss
A recent report from Switzerland Federal Statistical Office shows how an average Swiss household spends its income. In 2015, the mean income was CHF 9,946 per month, including all forms of income and any 13th month payment received at the end of the year.

Read More »

Swiss still richest, according to Credit Suisse

2017-11-19

by

2017-11-19

1 Franc
The Credit Suisse 2017 Global Wealth Report, shows total global wealth rose 6.4% to USD 280 trillion in 2016, taking it to the its highest level since 2007, before the financial meltdown in 2008. Globally, average wealth per adult was USD 56,540. In Switzerland, the same figure was USD 537,600 (CHF 533,000), close to ten times the global average, placing Switzerland in the lead, if Iceland – with unreliable data – is ignored.

Read More »

Health insurance rise in 2018 even higher, according to new calculation

2017-11-08

by

2017-11-08

Health Insurance
At the end of September the Swiss government announced an average nationwide health premium rise of 4% in 2018. This government calculation is rather narrow. It only looks at the price of standard compulsory insurance, including accident cover, for an adult with a CHF 300 deductible. Price comparison site bonus.ch calculates that this policy configuration only applies to 18.3% of residents.

Read More »

Swiss government says it has a plan to contain healthcare costs

2017-10-31

by

2017-10-31

As next year’s health premium bills find their way into Swiss mail or email boxes, the reality of another round of price increases starts to bite. Earlier this week, Switzerland’s Federal Council unveiled 38 measures that will be considered as part of a plan to tackle Switzerland’s rising health costs. A final plan will be presented next spring, according to 20 Minutes.

Read More »

End of tax-free online shopping delayed by a year

2017-10-22

by

2017-10-22

Online-shopping
Last year Switzerland’s government announced plans to change the rules on charging VAT on imported goods. Currently, most things ordered abroad and sent through the post to Switzerland that attract VAT of less than CHF 5, are waived through customs free of charge.

Read More »

Swiss government announces TV tax cut ahead of vote to eliminate it

2017-10-21

by

2017-10-21

Swiss TV License
On Wednesday, the Federal Council said it will cut Switzerland’s TV-Radio tax from CHF 451 to CHF 365 annually from 2019. According to Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, the cut is made possible by cost savings from simplifying the system and an increase in the numbers who will pay it – everyone will soon pay, not just those with a receiving device.

Read More »

The new 10 Swiss franc note hand mystery

2017-10-12

by

2017-10-12

Money
The third in a series of gorgeous new Swiss franc bank notes will be released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on October 18th. The 10-franc note keeps its yellow colour, but most everything else in the design and construction is different. What’s most remarkable about the new bank note? Not the 40 centimes or so it takes to make each note, nor that each note is projected to last only about a year. Not the sophisticated security measures, including...

Read More »

3 million francs of gold and silver found in Swiss sewers

2017-10-11

by

2017-10-11

Call it “dirty money” if you wish, because there’s about CHF 3 million in gold and silver found each year in Swiss sewage. But no one is going to get rich, according to a just-published report by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Recovering the estimated CHF 1.5 million in gold, and the same in silver, that passes through Swiss wastewater each year, wouldn’t be cost-effective, says the report. On the bright...

Read More »

Talk of cutting Swiss pensions paid to foreign residents

2017-10-08

by

2017-10-08

Chair
According to Le Matin, Jean-Luc Addor, a parliamentarian and member of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), wants to know what savings could be made if pensions paid to those abroad were adjusted for living costs in those countries. According to the newspaper, after the rejection of the vote to reform Swiss pensions, Addor said that the rejected reform was aimed at guaranteeing the financing of the pension system over the coming years, as well as...

Read More »

“This Is A Crisis Greater Than Any Government Can Handle”: The $400 Trillion Global Retirement Gap

2017-10-03

by

2017-10-03

Size of the retirement savings gap, 2015 - 2050
Today we’ll continue to size up the bull market in governmental promises. As we do so, keep an old trader’s slogan in mind: “That which cannot go on forever, won’t.” Or we could say it differently: An unsustainable trend must eventually stop. Lately I have focused on the trend in US public pension funds, many of which are woefully underfunded and will never be able to pay workers the promised benefits, at least without dumping a huge and unwelcome...

Read More »