The Swiss government has admitted to a significant miscalculation in its pension expenditure forecasts, revealing that future costs are overestimated by more than four billion Swiss francs.

This error, attributed to faulty mathematical formulas, has sparked a political uproar, with left-wing parties and unions criticizing the recent pension reform.

The reform, narrowly approved in a 2022 referendum, included raising the retirement age for women to 65 and increasing the VAT to bolster pension funds.

In light of the miscalculation, the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions and the Green Party are challenging the referendum results, calling for a re-vote.

They argue that the government's inaccurate projections misled voters, influencing the outcome of the referendum.

The situation has prompted discussions about potential adjustments to the retirement age and VAT policies, with some suggesting a unified retirement age for men and women or a rollback of the VAT increase.