From 55: Retired – When Experience No Longer Counts in Switzerland

They were CEOs, department heads, specialists: people who helped build companies and overcome crises. Today they have gone quiet. I’ve been hearing the same answer for weeks: “I’m no longer there.” Anyone over 55 is systematically weeded out of the Swiss job market, not because of a lack of performance, but because of high wage costs. A dangerous trend for the economy and society.

Just a few months ago, we were still talking about projects, strategies and innovations. Today, the same experienced, networked and loyal people are suddenly unavailable. Terminated.

The pattern is clear: age over 55, years of experience, high salary. A triad that is considered a “cost risk” in many HR departments. The companies concerned remain silent, but industry experts know: This development does not affect individual cases, but an entire generation.

Cheaper is the new better

Companies and IT service providers, including those in Switzerland, are consistently cutting back. A US tech giant with several hundred thousand employees has cut teams – including in Zurich. The work is now being carried out by young, highly qualified people from India. At much lower wage costs.

Similar developments can be seen in banking, insurance, industry and consulting. It is often not the function that is replaced, but only the expensive person. The economic loss caused by the outflow of expertise is not priced in.

Demographic madness

The absurdity: Switzerland is ageing rapidly. The baby boomers are retiring and the number of younger people is shrinking. According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 30 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2035. The gaps in the labor market are getting bigger, not smaller. Employers in the care, technology, IT and administration sectors are already complaining about a shortage of skilled workers.

And yet companies are sending their most experienced employees into early retirement, who could continue to work productively for 10 or 15 years. As if there was a choice between abundance and scarcity. A country that allows itself such wastefulness should not be surprised at the shortage of skilled workers.

Unemployed at 55: The silent crash

If you lose your job in Switzerland in your mid-fifties, you have a problem. They may lose their job – but only for a short time. Unemployment insurance (ALV) pays daily allowances for a maximum of 520 days, i.e. around 22 months. 120 daily allowances are paid if you become unemployed within four years before reaching AHV retirement age. After that, it’s over.

Returning to work is often illusory. Although further training for older employees is celebrated politically, in practice companies decide differently: young is cheap – old is expensive.

For many, if there are no assets, this means social welfare or early retirement with a drastic loss of income. Once out of the system, there is hardly any chance of re-entry. Even further training and programs for “older employees” are often fig leaves. Companies praise “diversity”, but not if it comes at a cost.

Early retirement

Early retirement is possible from the age of 58. According to Art. 47a BVG, insured persons who leave the mandatory insurance after the age of 58 can continue their pension provision; regulations may already permit this from the age of 55. In the case of restructuring, retirement before the age of 58 is even possible in accordance with Art. 1i para. 2 lit. a BVV 2.

Outsourced

However, anyone who no longer receives a daily allowance in Switzerland is considered to have been taxed out and must either cover their living expenses with their own funds or social assistance. As a social welfare recipient, you are entitled to a lump sum for food, clothing and other basic necessities.” Depending on the canton, this amounts to around CHF 1,061 for a single person and CHF 1,624 for a two-person household.

The Federal Act on Bridging Benefits (ÜLG) also protects unemployed persons over 60 who are made redundant by granting them bridging benefits until they draw their pension, provided the conditions are met.

Sharing experience instead of losing it

But there are alternatives to dismissal. Models that secure knowledge and reduce costs. One approach is generational tandems, in which an older employee reduces their workload while a younger person joins. Know-how remains in the company and succession does not work via PDFs, but through direct collaboration.

Voluntary salary models with a cap would also be realistic. Many people over 55 no longer need top salaries: children have left home and major investments have been made. A fair, reduced salary with guaranteed continued employment would be a benefit for many and even more so for companies.

Such solutions require creativity in HR, but less courage than a wave of redundancies.

A structural taboo

Age discrimination is hardly regulated in Switzerland. There are no specific protection mechanisms like in the USA, where dismissals based on age are legally sensitive. Here, on the other hand, you are left without rights and, in case of doubt, “too expensive”.

Today, people between 55 and 65 are fitter, more digital and more resilient than ever before. However, the reality is that they are labeled as “no longer capable of development”, even if they learn new tools every week and lead teams that are half their age.

Cutting experience means cutting the future

When companies lose their most experienced people, they lose more than labor costs: stability, knowledge, networks, mentoring and the ability to manage crises. These people could be the bridge between generations, instead they are being pushed aside.

In an economy where everything is becoming faster, more complex and more unpredictable, you need people who have already weathered several storms. Despite this, it is precisely these people who are being weeded out.

A dangerous imbalance

Switzerland is facing a paradox: more and more older people want to and are able to work, but fewer and fewer are allowed to. In a country that celebrates itself as a world champion of innovation, there is an astonishing backwardness when it comes to dealing with older workers.

A rethink is finally needed: away from a focus on costs and towards a focus on skills. After all, anyone who pushes the 55+ generation out of working life is gambling away what they need most urgently. The narrative is: not “too old”, but “too valuable to be lost”.

Binci Heeb

Read also: Skills shortage in Switzerland: The underestimated strength of the “boomers”