This could be a story by Gottfried Keller. But it actually happened in Bern and conveys an important message: the different retirement age stipulated by law, of 65 for men and 64 for women, is controversial.

Last June, in a partial revision of the municipal civil service regulations, the Bernese city council raised the retirement age from 63 to 64 for women and from 64 to 65 for men. Private individuals and associations filed objections invoking a breach of administrative procedures. The proposed changes were not properly notified to the public and the employee associations were not heard as required by law.

Different retirement ages are unconstitutional

In February this year, Christoph Lerch, the head of the Bernese government, rescinded the city council's decision. He argued that the new civil service regulation stipulating different retirement ages for men and women violated the constitutional principle of equal treatment and non discrimination. This was an additional reason to rescind the article.

No constitutional jurisdiction for the Federal AHV/AVS legislation
 
He did not, however, mean to question the constitutionality of the Federal Law on Retirement and Survivors' Insurance (AHV/AVS). After all, there is no constitutional jurisdiction for federal laws since the Supreme Court does not verify the constitutionality of federal legislation.