Swiss Pillar 1 (AHV/AVS) 2025 — State Pension Contributions and Benefits

Switzerland's retirement system is built on three pillars: Pillar 1 (state-run AHV/AVS), Pillar 2 (occupational pensions), and Pillar 3 (private retirement savings). Pillar 1—the AHV (Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung) or AVS in French—is the foundational state pension that every Swiss resident and most employees must contribute to starting at age 17.

The AHV is the base layer of Swiss retirement income and is periodically indexed. How large a share of your own retirement income it is depends entirely on your Pillar 2 and Pillar 3 balances — for high earners it is a small fraction, because the AHV pension stops rising at an average income of CHF 90,720 while contributions do not.

Pillar 1 Overview: Who Must Contribute?

Employee Contributions (AHV/IV/EO)

All employees contribute to AHV on their whole salary — there is no lower earnings threshold and no upper ceiling. Contributions start on 1 January after your 17th birthday. (A small-earnings simplification exists for domestic and cultural work; it is a reporting simplification, not an exemption from the pension.)

Employer Deduction

Employee contributions (5.30%) are automatically deducted from gross salary—reducing taxable income. Employers must contribute an equal 5.30%.

Example: CHF 80,000 gross salary, 2026

• Employee AHV/IV/EO: 5.30% × CHF 80,000 = CHF 4,240/year
• Employer AHV/IV/EO: CHF 4,240/year (employer cost, not visible on pay stub)
• Employee ALV: 1.1% × CHF 80,000 = CHF 880/year (this one is capped, at CHF 148,200 of salary)
• Income reduced for tax purposes by the employee contributions: CHF 80,000 − 4,240 − 880 = CHF 74,880, before Pillar 2 and accident-insurance deductions

Example: CHF 250,000 gross salary — to show that Pillar 1 has no ceiling

• Employee AHV/IV/EO: 5.30% × CHF 250,000 = CHF 13,250/year, and the employer matches it
• Employee ALV: 1.1% × CHF 148,200 = CHF 1,630.20 — ALV is capped, so this stops rising
• Pension entitlement: the same maximum as someone with an average income of CHF 90,720

Contributions: There Is No Ceiling

Correction, 31 July 2026. This section previously stated a "maximum insurable income of CHF 88,200" and concluded that "a CHF 250,000 earner pays the same AHV as a CHF 88,200 earner." AHV/IV/EO contributions are uncapped. There is no maximum insurable income in Pillar 1. The CHF 88,200 was a stale version of a Pillar 2 figure — the upper limit of the BVG-insured salary, which is a different scheme — misapplied to Pillar 1. Anyone who budgeted their contributions on that sentence has been understating them, possibly by a great deal.

AHV/IV/EO contributions are levied on your entire earned income, with no upper limit. A CHF 250,000 earner pays AHV on all CHF 250,000. What is capped is the benefit: the pension stops rising once your relevant average annual income reaches CHF 90,720, so contributions above that level are pure solidarity. That is a real and important point — but it is about the pension, not about the contribution.

Key insight, corrected: a CHF 250,000 earner pays roughly three times the AHV contributions of a CHF 88,200 earner and receives the same pension. The redistribution is real; the cap is not.

Qualifying for Full Benefits: Contribution Years

To receive the full AHV retirement pension (pension scale 44), you need a complete contribution record for your own birth cohort — no gaps from 1 January after your 20th birthday to 31 December before you reach reference age.

How many years that is depends on when you were born, because women's reference age is still rising:

A year counts if contributions of at least the minimum annual contribution — CHF 530 in 2026 — were paid, or if you were credited with parenting or care credits, or if your working spouse paid at least twice the minimum contribution.

Calculating Contribution Years

• Full-time work: 1 contribution year per calendar year
• Part-time at 50%: 0.5 years per year (still counts toward qualification)
• Unemployed, student, or caregiver (with voluntary contributions): 1 year per year if you keep current with voluntary payments
• Parent raising children: Years aged 15–18 while raising children count automatically (regardless of income)
• Caregiver gap year: Years caring for elderly/disabled relatives count if canton approves

Gaps and Credits

You can have gaps in your contribution record (e.g., taking time off work, studying, living abroad as non-resident). These reduce your final pension proportionally.

Example (44-year scale — one missing year costs at least 1/44, or about 2.3%):

• Worked 40 years out of 44 → 40 ÷ 44 = 90.9% of the full pension
• Worked 35 years out of 44 → 35 ÷ 44 = 79.5% of the full pension

Contributions before 20 can fill later gaps. Years worked between 18 and 20 ("youth years") are held in reserve and applied to gaps once you reach reference age — but only where the missing contributions can no longer be claimed, which is after five years. Gaps found sooner than that are better paid in than left to be filled.

You have to apply for the AHV pension — it is not paid automatically

Correction (2026-07-31): an earlier version of this page stated in its FAQ that "AHV is automatic at retirement age." It is not. No AHV old-age pension is paid unless you register for it. If you reached reference age relying on that sentence and no payment has arrived, contact your compensation office now: back-payment is possible but the claim lapses after five years, so every month of delay is money you cannot recover.

The AHV is administered not by a single national office but by the network of compensation offices (Ausgleichskassen / caisses de compensation) — cantonal offices, professional association offices, and the Federal Compensation Office for federal employees. The one responsible for you is normally the office that last collected your contributions. For people living abroad, the Swiss Compensation Office (SCO/ZAS/CdC) in Geneva is responsible.

How to claim:

1. Apply three to four months before you reach reference age — not on the day itself. The office has to obtain records and reconstruct your contribution history, which takes weeks. If you are drawing early, apply before the date you want the pension to start.
2. Use form 318.370, "Anmeldung für eine Altersrente" (application for an old-age pension), available from ahv-iv.ch or from any compensation office.
3. Submit it to the compensation office that last collected your contributions. If you are not sure which that is, any compensation office can tell you.

If you do not know which office holds your record, ask before you need the money — reconstructing it at the last minute is the usual cause of a gap between the last salary and the first pension payment.

Retirement Benefits: Age, Amounts, and Timing

Reference Age — Rising for Women, Year by Year

The AHV 21 reform came into force on 1 January 2024 and its practical effect started in 2025: women's reference age is rising from 64 to 65 in three-month steps.

Men's reference age is 65 and is unchanged.

Transition-generation supplement. Women born between 1 January 1961 and 31 December 1969 who do not draw their pension early receive a lifelong supplement on top of their pension. Its size depends on their average annual income, pension scale and birth year, and — unusually — it is not subject to the married-couple cap. Drawing early forfeits it entirely, which is often the single largest number in an early-retirement decision for these cohorts.

Women born 1961–1969 can also draw early from 62 rather than 63.

Maximum Pension, Full Contribution Record (Scale 44), 2026

Correction, 31 July 2026, and please read this one. This table previously said a married couple receives "CHF 44,100 each". It does not. The married-couple figure is a cap on the two pensions added together — 150% of the single maximum, combined, not each. Stating it as "each" roughly doubled what a couple should expect from Pillar 1. If you built a retirement plan, a drawdown schedule or a decision to retire early on that number, redo it: the correct couple maximum is CHF 3,780 a month between the two of you, not CHF 3,675 each. The amounts below were also 2023 vintage.

How the couple cap works. Each spouse's pension is computed individually. If the two together exceed CHF 3,780/month, both are reduced proportionally to fit. If one spouse has an incomplete record, the applicable cap is lower still. The cap is lifted on divorce, on a court-ordered separation of the household, and on the death of a spouse.

New for 2026: the 13th AHV pension. Everyone entitled to an AHV retirement pension in December of a given year receives an extra monthly payment, paid with the December pension. It equals one twelfth of the total retirement pension you received that calendar year and is rounded to the nearest franc. It applies to old-age pensions only — survivors', disability and child pensions are still paid 12 times a year. At the single maximum that is an extra CHF 2,520 a year; for a couple at the cap, an extra CHF 3,780.

Note: these amounts are indexed periodically, normally every two years. They were last set on 1 January 2025 and are unchanged for 2026.

How Benefits Are Calculated

Your final pension depends on:

1. Years of contribution (up to 43; proportional if fewer)
2. Average annual income over all contribution years
3. Marital status (slight reduction for couples)

There is no "~60% of average earnings" rule. The AHV uses a bent formula published as a table (the Rentenskala 44 table in leaflet 3.01), which is strongly redistributive:

• Relevant average annual income of CHF 15,120 or less → the minimum pension, CHF 1,260/month
• Relevant average annual income of CHF 90,720 or more → the maximum pension, CHF 2,520/month
• In between, the pension rises much more slowly than income. Doubling your average income from CHF 45,360 to CHF 90,720 raises the pension from CHF 1,915 to CHF 2,520 — about 32%, not 100%

So the replacement rate falls sharply as income rises: near 100% at the bottom of the scale, around 33% at CHF 90,720, and lower still above it. The previously quoted "~60% of average earnings" was not a rule at any income level and has been removed.

Your own figure depends on your individual account, parenting and care credits, and income splitting during marriage. Request a Rentenvorausberechnung from your compensation office (leaflet 3.06) rather than estimating.

Early and Delayed Claiming

AHV 21 changed the mechanics here, and the old whole-year table no longer describes the scheme.

Drawing Early

• From 63 — and from 62 for women born between 1961 and 1969
• By individual months, not only in whole years. Before AHV 21 it was whole years only
• Partial withdrawal: you can draw between 20% and 80% of your pension early and take the rest later. This is new under AHV 21 and is the option most people do not know exists
• The reduction is actuarial and permanent, and it is recalculated once you reach reference age to reflect the total actually paid out early
• Drawing early forfeits child pensions for that period, and for women born 1961–1969 it forfeits the transition-generation supplement entirely — often the larger loss of the two
• You must apply before the month in which you want the early pension to start. Retrospective applications are not possible

Deferring

• One to five years past reference age, in monthly steps, with a permanent increase
• You must register the deferral within one year of reaching reference age, by ticking the deferral box on form 318.370. Miss that and the pension is simply awarded normally
• Once the one-year minimum has passed the deferral cannot be revoked
• Child pensions and any widow's/widower's pension are deferred with it

The percentages

The reduction and increase percentages are set by ordinance and were revised under AHV 21, so we do not quote a table here. Reduction and deferral rates are actuarial factors that the Federal Council adjusts; using a stale one to decide when to retire is exactly the error this page previously made. Take the current table from leaflet 3.04, Flexible retirement, in the edition dated for the year you are deciding in, and — because the interaction with the couple cap, the transition supplement and Pillar 2 is what actually decides it — ask your compensation office for a Rentenvorausberechnung on both scenarios before choosing.

The break-even ages previously given here (77–78 for drawing early, 80–82 for deferring) have been removed. They were stated as facts, but a break-even depends on the current actuarial factors, on your own pension amount, on whether the couple cap binds, and on the 13th pension — it is a calculation, not a constant.

Special Situations

Spouse Benefits

A supplementary pension for a spouse (Zusatzrente) exists, but it was closed to new awards by the 10th AHV revision and now survives only in grandfathered cases. Do not plan around it. If you think you may fall within the transitional rules, put the question to your compensation office (Ausgleichskasse) — that is the only body that can tell you what is on your record. We have not been able to verify a current eligibility rule to state here, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as needing confirmation from the office itself.

For couples where one spouse has little or no contribution record, the mechanism that actually matters is income splitting (below) plus the fact that a married couple's two pensions are capped jointly rather than paid at two full single rates.

Divorced/Separated Individuals

Contribution splitting (Einkommensteilung / splitting) applies to the income earned during the marriage: each former spouse is credited with half of the couple's combined income for those years. This is a statutory consequence of divorce, not a discretionary award.

Where it is handled: your compensation office (Ausgleichskasse), not the court and not the tax office. Splitting is normally carried out when the first of the two ex-spouses claims a pension, but either party can request it earlier. Raise it with the compensation office well before you claim rather than assuming it has already been done — the duration of the marriage and the exact years covered are the details that get lost.

Gaps and Catch-Up

If you have contribution gaps, you can voluntarily catch up:

• Non-residents living abroad: Can pay voluntary contributions to maintain qualification
• Self-employed with irregular income: Can pay contributions based on estimated earnings
• Cost: the full 10.6% AHV/IV/EO, both halves, paid by the individual
• Time limit: contribution gaps can only be paid in for the last five years. Older gaps are closed permanently and can only be softened by youth years. This is the reason to check your individual account now rather than at retirement

AHV Financing and Sustainability

The AHV is funded by:

• Payroll contributions (10.6%) — employee + employer
• General tax revenue — ~20% of budget
• Investment returns on the AHV reserve fund

Sustainability concern: Aging population (higher retiree:worker ratio) strains the system. Reforms discussed include:

• Gradually raising retirement age to 66 or 67
• Adjusting contribution rates upward
• Means-testing for high-net-worth retirees (politically unlikely)

As of 2025, AHV is solvent through ~2032 without reforms. No imminent crisis, but long-term adjustments expected.

FAQ

Q: If I move abroad, do I lose my AHV?
A: No. Your contribution years remain credited. You can continue paying voluntary contributions (if not in an EU/EFTA country with reciprocal treaty). At 65, you receive your full pension wherever you live—paid monthly to your foreign bank account.

Q: Can my employer reduce my salary and lower my AHV?
A: No. Contributions are legally mandated and proportional to earnings; your employer cannot avoid paying the employer share. However, if you choose part-time work, your AHV contribution is proportionally lower (and future benefit lower).

Q: Is AHV taxable income?
A: Yes. Your AHV pension is fully included in taxable income for income tax purposes. However, because pensions are lower than working income, your total tax is usually much less. No federal tax on pensions below ~CHF 28,000/year.

Q: What happens if I never contributed (e.g., didn't work)?
A: If you never contributed, you receive zero AHV pension. If you were married, income splitting may credit you with half of the couple's income for the marriage years — ask your compensation office. A refund of contributions on leaving Switzerland is possible only for nationals of countries that have no social security agreement with Switzerland; EU/EFTA nationals and nationals of agreement states cannot take a refund, they keep the entitlement. Refund applications go to the Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) in Geneva.

Q: Can I claim both AHV and Pillar 3a at the same time?
A: Yes, but neither is automatic. The AHV old-age pension must be applied for (see "You have to apply for the AHV pension" above). Pillar 3a must be separately liquidated with your 3a provider (you can do so gradually or all at once). Withdraw Pillar 3a funds strategically to minimize income tax—often over 2–3 years post-retirement.

Q: If I'm self-employed, how do I calculate AHV contributions?
A: On your net business income (after expenses). Rates are 9.5%–10.5% depending on income. You can pay estimated contributions quarterly; adjust at year-end based on actual profit.

This is educational information, not financial advice. For anything about your own record — contribution years, gaps, splitting, or the pension application itself — the authority is your compensation office (Ausgleichskasse / caisse de compensation), or the Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) in Geneva if you live abroad. General information and all official forms are published by the AHV/IV information centre at ahv-iv.ch.