In general, pensioners are better off than they were at the beginning of the early 90s, while young people are comparatively worse off. This was the finding of the Canton Zurich statistics office in 2006, based on tax returns from 1991 and 2003.

The improvement in the financial situation of pensioners was explained by the fact that recently retired people were benefiting from the introduction of the obligatory pension scheme in 1985.

Younger people were less well off than they had been in 1991 because more of them spend time being trained or educated. In 1991 only seven per cent of 18-29 year olds fell into this category; by 2003 it was 11%.

The income of people in the age group 30-50 remained more or less the same between 1991 and 2003. This may be because compulsory social security contributions have risen sharply over that period, eating up any wage increases.

It is when people reach the age of about 50 that their financial situation improves, especially for married couples. Their outgoings fall as their children leave home, and in addition this is often the time at which they come into an inheritance.

The Zurich survey showed that the assets of couples born in the period 1932 - 1936 had almost quadrupled between 1991 and 2003.

A survey carried out in 2004 showed that the income of married men tends to rise as they get older, while that of unmarried men stagnates. One explanation is that unmarried men can better afford to work part time. With women, however, the situation is reversed.