Swiss voters seem by a slim margin to support a proposal to raise the retirement age for women to 65, according to projections made Sunday by public broadcaster SRF, AP reports.

The proposed reform of the Swiss pension system would require women to work another year before they would be eligible for full retirement benefits. Men already have to work until age 65 to qualify for full retirement benefits.

This is part of a reform already passed by Parliament but requiring voter approval, which also involves raising the value-added tax to help replenish the pension system's funds. Officials say the number of retirees is growing faster than the number of working people.

Such steps are seen as necessary to strengthen the public pension fund over the next decade as baby boomers increasingly retire and people in general live longer, especially women, who have a higher life expectancy than men.

Opponents of the reform say it will fall entirely on the shoulders of women, whose retirement plan benefits are generally lower than those of men, and will exacerbate the inequality and injustice that they say has long plagued women in Switzerland.