- AHV is deducted automatically: 5.3% of your salary, and as much again from your employer.
- Each missing year costs about 2% of your pension, for life; only the last 5 years can be caught up.
- Years worked abroad are not lost: each country pays its share of your pension.
How much you will get
You do nothing to contribute: 5.3% of your salary is deducted every month, and your employer pays the same. Your pension then depends on two things: your number of contribution years in Switzerland, out of the 44 of a full record, and your average income. With an average income of about 90'000 francs or more, here is what you get.
| Years contributed in Switzerland | AHV pension per month (2026) |
|---|---|
| 10 years | ~CHF 570 |
| 20 years | ~CHF 1'150 |
| 30 years (arrived at 35) | ~CHF 1'720 |
| 44 years, full record | CHF 2'520 |
Single person, average income of at least CHF 90'720, pension at 65. Pension = full pension × years ÷ 44. From 1 January 2027, all pensions rise by 1.59%, and the 13th pension adds one more monthly payment each year.
Ask for your individual account extract on ahv-iv.ch: it lists your contribution years, and you can request a pension estimate. It is free.
Years abroad are not lost
If you worked in the EU, in EFTA or in a country with a social security agreement, each country pays you its own share of the pension. Your 10 years in Germany give you a German pension, your 30 years in Switzerland a Swiss one. Switzerland pays its share wherever you live, at retirement age.
The catch: each share is calculated on that country's rules and amounts. Request a statement from each country now, not at 64: missing or wrong years are much easier to correct while your employers still exist.
Close the gaps you can
Missing years can only be paid after the fact for the last 5 years, and only for years when you already lived or worked in Switzerland. The years before you arrived cannot be bought back in the AHV. Check your extract early: a year without contributions (a gap between two jobs, a sabbatical, studies) can still be filled if you act within 5 years.
Married, with a spouse who does not work? If your own AHV contributions reach at least twice the minimum contribution, about a thousand francs a year, your spouse is insured without paying anything. A normal salary easily reaches that threshold.
Fill the rest with your pension fund and 3a
A shorter AHV record is the main reason why expats need their 2nd and 3rd pillars more than anyone. Your years abroad have often left a gap in your pension fund too: you can buy it back, and every franc is tax deductible. Arrived from abroad less than 5 years ago? Your buy-ins are capped at a fifth of your insured salary per year: see the pension fund buy-in. Then the 3a, which you open yourself: where to open it. How much you will need in total: how much you need to retire.
Going further
Deferring raises your pension. You can draw your AHV from 63 or defer it until 70. Deferring increases the pension for life, by almost a third at 70; drawing early cuts it, by 6.8% a year in 2026. The full cost of leaving early is in retiring at 62.
Children count. For every year with a child under 16, a notional income is added to your average income, even if you work part-time or not at all. For a married couple, it is split automatically.
Leaving before retirement? Your years stay yours, and the pension will be paid abroad. What happens to your pension fund and 3a is in leaving Switzerland.
Your 3a savingThe simplest way to fill the gap, with a tax deduction straight away.
Work out my savingYour next step
To do, at your own pace:
Path “Planning your retirement” · step 1 of 8
Frequently asked questions
How much AHV pension will I get after 20 years in Switzerland?
About 20/44 of the pension matching your average income. With an average income of at least CHF 90'720, that is about CHF 1'150 a month in 2026, instead of CHF 2'520 for a full 44-year record. Your exact figure is on a pension estimate from ahv-iv.ch.
Can I pay contributions for the years before I arrived?
No. You can only pay arrears for years when you were already insured in Switzerland, and only for the last 5 years. Years spent abroad count in the pension system of that country, if it has one.
My spouse does not work: do they have to pay AHV?
Not if you are married and your own AHV contributions reach at least twice the minimum contribution, CHF 1'060 in 2026, which a normal salary easily exceeds. Your spouse is then insured without paying. Otherwise, they pay contributions as a non-employed person.
Will my Swiss pension be paid if I retire abroad?
Yes, if you are Swiss or a national of an EU or EFTA country or of a country with a social security agreement with Switzerland. It is paid wherever you live, at retirement age.
Can I get my contributions back when I leave?
Generally only if you are a national of a country with no social security agreement with Switzerland. In that case, the refund replaces the pension.
What is the 13th AHV pension?
One extra pension a year, equal to one monthly pension, paid for the first time in December 2026. It follows the same reductions as the ordinary pension, including missing years.
Sources: FSIO, old-age pensions and 2026 pension scale, 2026 contribution rates ; Federal Council, press release of 2 October 2026 (2027 pensions, +1.59%) ; FSIO, 13th AHV pension ; AHVG / LAVS art. 3 (non-working spouse) and art. 16 (5-year limit for arrears) ; Central Compensation Office, individual account extract and refund of contributions (ahv-iv.ch) ; social security agreements with the EU, EFTA and other states.