Which workers in Switzerland retire the earliest?
By Jan de Boer
A new report by Blick has revealed the jobs in Switzerland with the youngest retirement age. In all, the study found that workers in aviation, government, private insurance and banking tend to retire earliest.
Swiss air traffic controllers have to quit when they are 56
To create the report, Blick analysed the official retirement age for some Swiss professions, alongside data revealing how long workers actually stay in the job for. In all, the report found that air traffic controllers take out their pensions earliest. Both men and women are forced to leave the control tower when they are 56 years old, up to nine years earlier than the nationwide retirement age of 65 for men and 64 for women.
According to the Federal Council, the reason why controllers can't stay on the job longer is that “the ability to concentrate and react decreases with age,” a slight problem if you are trying to manage hundreds of flights arriving and leaving a busy Swiss airport. However, in the words of Blick, this is not deterring the government from current plans to raise the retirement age of air traffic controllers to 60 years old.
Shortest careers in aviation, Swiss banks and the diplomatic service
The second and third shortest careers were found to be in the Swiss Army and in the Swiss diplomatic services, where the retirement age is set at 60 years old. While the government has officially raised the retirement age of those in the diplomatic service to 65, this will only take effect in 2031.
Despite not having an earlier retirement age, employees in Swiss banks and insurance firms were found to only work till they are 62 on average, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Interestingly, Blick found that while the annual average second-pillar pension payment in Switzerland is 28.618 francs, Zürcher Kantonalbank workers receive an average of 46.076 francs a year.
In regard to who has the latest retirement age, Blick found that farmers and freelancers stay on the job for the longest. On average, farmers reach the age of 67,5 before they choose to retire, with scientific and technical freelancers working until they are 67.
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more