Worked in Switzerland and Left? How to Find Your Swiss Pension Money From Abroad

You worked in Switzerland. Maybe two years in Zurich, maybe fifteen in Basel or Geneva. Then you left, the payslips went in a box, and the Swiss part of your working life became a story you tell at dinner.

There is a good chance money is still sitting there in your name.

Switzerland is one of the few countries where forgotten workplace pension money is pushed by law towards a central body, and where an office exists to match enquiries against reported balances. Almost nobody outside Switzerland knows it exists. It is free. This article shows where to look, in order, with every official page linked so you can check it yourself.

Our free two minute check is a quick way to see which systems are likely to hold something in your name.

The three pillars, in one minute

Swiss retirement provision rests on three pillars, set out in Article 111 of the Federal Constitution. The Central Compensation Office puts it plainly: "The first and second pillars correspond to the public and occupational pension provisions, the third pillar concerns private pension provisions" (zas.admin.ch).

The first pillar is AHV/AVS, the state old age and survivors insurance. The second is the occupational pension, BVG in German and LPP in French, run through your employer's fund. The third is private and voluntary, and its tax privileged version is pillar 3a.

As an employee in Switzerland you almost certainly touched the first pillar, and if you were insured through an employer's pension fund, the second. That is where the forgotten money usually is.

The first pillar: your AHV record

One year is the threshold

Entitlement to an ordinary Swiss old age pension requires "a minimum of one full year of contribution credits", according to official leaflet 3.01 from the AHV/IV information centre (ahv-iv.ch). One full year of Swiss employment can create a lifelong entitlement.

The same leaflet sets the reference age at 65 for men and 64 for women, rising in three month steps to 65 in 2028. A full pension requires a record with no gaps from age 20 to the end of the calendar year before the reference age. An incomplete record gives a partial pension, each missing year cutting the amount by at least one forty fourth.

If you left Switzerland, can you get the contributions back?

For Swiss nationals and nationals of an EU or EFTA state, the official leaflet on leaving Switzerland is blunt. Contributions paid to Switzerland "may not be transferred to the social security system of an EU or EFTA member state. Furthermore, individuals are not entitled to a reimbursement of these contributions" (ahv-iv.ch leaflet 880). The money stays in the Swiss system and you draw a Swiss pension later. That is not a loss. It is a deferred asset.

For nationals of other states the position can differ. The Central Compensation Office states that a refund is possible if you are a national of a country with no social security agreement with Switzerland, or of Australia, Brazil, China, India, the Philippines, South Korea, Tunisia or Uruguay under specific conditions. You are not eligible if you are Swiss, an EU or EFTA national, or a national of an agreement state whose agreement does not allow it. Two conditions apply: contributions paid for at least one year, and you and your family must have left Switzerland permanently or hold the firm intention of doing so (zas.admin.ch).

The same page states the refund is capped at 8.7 percent of the gross income on which contributions were paid, may be reduced, cannot exceed the benefits you would otherwise have received, and is taxed at source under scale D. A refund closes the door on a future pension. Read that page before deciding.

The individual account is the evidence

Every insured person has an individual account, the individuelles Konto or IK. It records your declared income, your contribution periods and any care credits, and it is the basis on which a pension is calculated.

If you live outside Switzerland you can request a statement. The Central Compensation Office directs people abroad to its eCdC eService at ecdc.zas.admin.ch/public, states that the statement is free, and says processing takes up to two months (zas.admin.ch). The AHV/IV information centre confirms it is free and that you can instruct a compensation office to retrieve all your statements (ahv-iv.ch).

The office for claimants living abroad is the Swiss Compensation Office in Geneva, the Schweizerische Ausgleichskasse, at Avenue Edmond-Vaucher 18, Postfach 3100, 1211 Genève 2, telephone +41 58 461 91 11. Its remit covers international agreements, establishing entitlement and amount, and paying benefits to nationals of contracting states outside Switzerland, and it is the office you claim an old age pension from if you retire abroad (ahv-iv.ch, ch.ch).

Get the IK statement first. It proves when you worked in Switzerland and what you earned, and those dates are what the second pillar search needs.

The second pillar: where the forgotten money actually is

What a Freizügigkeitsleistung is

When you leave an employer in Switzerland, the money accumulated for you in that employer's pension fund does not vanish and does not stay with the employer. It becomes a vested benefit, a Freizügigkeitsleistung, and it belongs to you. Transferring it to the new employer's fund is required by law, and you are responsible for telling your old fund where to send it (BSV leaflet on changing jobs).

What happens when nobody tells the fund

If your former fund never receives details of where to send the money, it cannot transfer it. The BSV leaflet states that after six months, and at the latest after two years, the fund must transfer the money to the Stiftung Auffangeinrichtung BVG, the substitute occupational benefit institution, which opens a vested benefits account and holds it.

So the money is not lost. It has an address. You do not know it.

The Auffangeinrichtung calls these holdings kontaktlose Konten, contactless accounts, and lists the usual causes: job changes, breaks in work, moving abroad, or forgetting to forward the vested benefit. It points people to the central office to check, free of charge (aeis.ch). Its contact for vested benefits accounts is Stiftung Auffangeinrichtung BVG, Freizügigkeitskonten, 8050 Zürich, telephone +41 41 799 75 75 (aeis.ch).

Not all forgotten money goes there. Plenty sits at the original fund, or at a vested benefits foundation it was moved to. Hence the next step.

The Zentralstelle 2. Saule, the search almost nobody uses

The Sicherheitsfonds BVG, the BVG guarantee fund, runs the 2nd Pillar Central Office. Every occupational benefit institution and every institution holding vested benefits accounts or policies must report to it each January the holders of the pension assets it held in December. The report covers name, first name, AHV number, date of birth, the institution's name and whether the holding is contactless, meaning the institution does not know the person's address. The legal basis given is Article 24a of the Vesting Act, with Article 24c and Article 19c paragraph 3 of the Vesting Ordinance (sfbvg.ch).

That duty is the whole point. A single register lists which Swiss institution holds an occupational pension balance in your name.

You can query it. In the office's own words: "If you do not know the address of your benefit scheme in Switzerland, you may address a written enquiry to the 2nd Pillar Central Office." Your form "will be compared by the 2nd Pillar Central Office with reports from the schemes. You will be informed if a match is found" (sfbvg.ch). The information sheet states the enquiry is free and the reply comes by post (Merkblatt, German, English).

It also works in the other direction. It has direct access to the central AHV register at the Central Compensation Office in Geneva, and for people living abroad it passes addresses to the institutions so beneficiaries can be told about a possible balance. Institutions must report to it unclaimed entitlements of people who have reached retirement age (sfbvg.ch).

The limits matter too. The office states that it "does not itself manage any credit balances, nor does it take decisions on claims to credit balances", and gives no information about balances by telephone. Once it names an institution, you claim from that institution, which alone decides entitlement and payment.

How to make the enquiry, exactly

Use the enquiry form on the guarantee fund's search pages (procedure, online form), published in German, French, Italian, English, Portuguese and Spanish.

It asks for surname and first name, date of birth, AHV number, address including country, a telephone number or email address, plus place, date and signature. Surname, first name and date of birth are required. Copies of employment documents are optional, but the site notes they help if a first search finds nothing. Filling it in online does not submit it. Print it, sign it, and send it by post or email.

Post to: 2nd Pillar Central Office, LOB Guarantee Fund, P.O. Box 1023, 3000 Berne 14. Email: info@zentralstelle.ch. Telephone: +41 31 380 79 75. The fund warns that it only calls from that number, so treat any other caller claiming to be the office with suspicion.

Give the AHV number if you can. It is the strongest identifier and your IK statement carries it. If you changed your surname after leaving Switzerland, send both names.

Cash payment when you leave Switzerland

Many people who left assumed their pension money was paid out. Often only part was.

The BSV states that a cash payment of BVG retirement assets is possible where the insured person can prove they are leaving Switzerland definitively, but that a restriction applies for people moving into the EU or EFTA area (BSV FAQ). Leaflet 880: "Compulsory occupational benefit contributions cannot be paid out in cash if the person concerned leaves Switzerland for good and is subject to the compulsory social security system in an EU or EFTA member state" (ahv-iv.ch).

The guarantee fund, the Swiss liaison office for occupational pensions, sets out how this works. The bar on cashing out the statutory minimum applies where departure took place after 31 May 2007, the money comes from statutory minimum cover, the destination is an EU or EFTA state, and the person becomes subject to compulsory state insurance there for old age, invalidity and survivors' benefits. The fund investigates, coordinates with the foreign authority, and tells both the applicant and the institution in writing whether the mandatory portion can be paid. Without that clearance the money stays in Switzerland on a blocked account (sfbvg.ch).

Vested benefits above the statutory minimum, the extra-mandatory portion, can be withdrawn without that restriction. The BSV FAQ also notes that for people moving to the United Kingdom, following its departure from the EU, both parts may be paid out.

That explains a very common situation. Somebody left Zurich for Milan in 2012, received a payment, and assumed the account was closed. In fact only the extra-mandatory portion was paid. The mandatory portion is still in Switzerland, on a blocked vested benefits account, in their name.

Claiming later means paperwork. The Auffangeinrichtung asks for the deregistration confirmation from your last Swiss municipality, spouse documents where relevant, and applies withholding tax (aeis.ch).

Pillar 3a left behind at a Swiss bank or insurer

Pillar 3a accounts sit with a bank foundation or an insurer, not an employer, and there is no central register to query as there is for the second pillar. Official guidance for people abroad is that your place of residence does not matter and you should contact the institution directly (ch.ch).

If you cannot remember which bank, use the dormant assets system. The Swiss Bankers Association explains that assets are entered in a central database 60 years after the last contact with the customer where they exceed CHF 500 or are of unknown value, are then published at dormantaccounts.ch, and go to the Confederation if unclaimed (swissbanking.ch).

You do not have to wait 60 years to search. The central claims office attached to the Swiss Banking Ombudsman can query that database for entitled persons (bankingombudsman.ch). Its central search requires photographic ID, a signed authorisation, and, for a deceased holder, a death certificate and inheritance or civil status documents proving the relationship. The fee is CHF 100, and documents are accepted in German, French, Italian or English (bankingombudsman.ch).

Where people lose the thread

Four patterns account for most cases.

Multiple employers. Three Swiss jobs means three potential vested benefits, each possibly somewhere different. One central office search covers all of them.

Funds that merged or were wound up. The fund on a 1998 payslip may no longer exist under that name. That is why the central register beats hunting for an old employer.

Names and addresses. Marriage, divorce, a name transliterated into another alphabet, a Swiss address abandoned twenty years ago. You are reported as contactless because nobody can reach you.

Time. People who left in the 1980s and 1990s assume everything expired. Institutions must still report unclaimed entitlements of people who reach retirement age.

If the person has died

An heir or executor abroad has two jobs: establish what existed, then claim it.

For the first pillar, the Swiss Compensation Office in Geneva handles survivors' matters for people who lived abroad. For the second pillar, the central office enquiry is what identifies the institution. For a suspected bank or 3a holding, the Banking Ombudsman route above accepts heirs.

To claim, the Auffangeinrichtung requires a completed and signed death notification form, a copy of the death certificate, a family certificate, a certificate of inheritance or official list of heirs, and payment details for the entitled persons. It also states that money from a vested benefits account cannot be paid as a pension (aeis.ch). Occupational death benefits follow the beneficiary order in the institution's rules, which is not the same as the will, so probate documents alone may not settle who receives what.

What this costs you, and what we add

Everything above is free or close to it. The IK statement is free. The 2nd Pillar Central Office enquiry is free. The Banking Ombudsman search costs CHF 100. You can do all of it yourself, and if your case is simple, you should. We would rather say so than sell you something you do not need.

What we sell is completeness and finished work. Switzerland is one system among many, and they do not talk to each other. Most people we work with did not only work in Switzerland. Our research covers 41 countries and we have studied 54 pension systems in depth. Our free portal directory holds 53 entries. We track 47 systems on our transparency scoreboard, published on 1 October 2026, and 39 national pension authorities have replied to us in writing.

We also handle the part you cannot search for: the rule that governs your case. Whether your nationality permits an AHV refund at all. Whether the mandatory portion of your second pillar money was ever legally payable when you left.

Then we deliver a sourced, dated answer a family member or a lawyer can act on, every claim traced to an official page. Our research service starts with the Country Pension Identification Report at $99 for one country. The Enhanced Pension Identification Report at $499 covers a complex multi-employer or estate case. The Global Pension Identification Report at $799 covers a full international working life.

We are not financial advisers. We find what exists and tell you who holds it. What you do next is yours to decide.

Frequently asked questions

I only worked in Switzerland for eighteen months. Is it worth checking?

Yes. One full year of contribution credits is enough for entitlement to an ordinary AHV old age pension, and eighteen months insured in an employer's pension fund will have built a vested benefit that had to go somewhere when you left.

Does the 2nd Pillar Central Office tell me how much money there is?

No. It compares your details against the institutions' reports and informs you if there is a match, so you learn which institution to approach. It does not manage balances and does not decide claims, and it gives no information about balances over the telephone. The institution itself tells you the amount.

I am an EU national. Can I get my Swiss AHV contributions refunded?

The official leaflet on leaving Switzerland states that contributions cannot be transferred to an EU or EFTA social security system and that there is no entitlement to a reimbursement of them. The contributions remain in the Swiss system and support a future Swiss pension instead.

I was paid out when I left for France. Could there still be money?

Possibly. Where a person left after 31 May 2007 for an EU or EFTA state and became subject to compulsory old age, invalidity and survivors insurance there, the statutory minimum portion cannot be paid out in cash and stays in Switzerland. Only the extra-mandatory portion could be released. Many people were paid the extra-mandatory part and assumed that was everything.

Do I need my AHV number to search?

The enquiry form marks surname, first name and date of birth as required and asks for the AHV number as well. Give the AHV number if you can, because it is the strongest identifier. Your individual account statement from the Central Compensation Office will show it.

My father worked in Switzerland and has died. Where do I start?

Start with the individual account statement and a central office enquiry to establish what exists, then claim from whichever institution is named. For a vested benefits account, expect to provide a death certificate, a certificate of inheritance or official list of heirs, and civil status documents.

PensionHunter is a research and administrative assistance service. We are a trading name of Battersea Park Capital Ltd, registered in England and Wales, Companies House number 13326151, ICO registration ZC113586. We are not regulated by FINMA, the Financial Conduct Authority or any equivalent authority, and we are not financial advisers. We give no tax advice and no investment advice. We identify what exists in your name, who holds it now and how to reach them. All decisions remain with you.

Sources, all verified 26 August 2026

• https://www.zas.admin.ch/en/three-pillar-system
• https://www.zas.admin.ch/en/statement-of-the-individual-account-for-insured-persons-residing-outside-switzerland
• https://www.zas.admin.ch/en/reimbursement-of-contributions
• https://www.zas.admin.ch/en/contact-cco
• https://ecdc.zas.admin.ch/public
• https://www.ahv-iv.ch/p/3.01.e
• https://www.ahv-iv.ch/p/880.e
• https://www.ahv-iv.ch/en/Forms/Statement-of-the-individual-account/Switzerland
• https://www.ahv-iv.ch/en/Contacts/Swiss-compensation-Office-SCO
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/suche-nach-guthaben
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/suche-vorgehen
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/suche-nach-guthaben/wie-funktioniert-die-suche
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/suche-nach-guthaben/online-formular
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/datenmeldung
• https://sfbvg.ch/aufgaben/barauszahlung-nach-ausreise
• https://sfbvg.ch/en/tasks/enquiry-about-occupational-benefit-credit-balances
• https://sfbvg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/sfbvg/SF.5_ZS_Suche/SF-F5-MB-DE.pdf
• https://sfbvg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/sfbvg/SF.5_ZS_Suche/SF-F5-MB-EN.pdf
• https://www.bsv.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/cwZHEQJEqC2o/bsv-merkblatt-stellenwechsel-de.pdf
• https://faq.bsv.admin.ch/de/berufliche-vorsorge/kann-ich-mein-bvg-altersguthaben-bar-beziehen-wenn-ich-die-schweiz-endgueltig
• https://www.bsv.admin.ch/bsv/de/home/sozialversicherungen/bv/grundlagen-und-gesetze/grundlagen/ausreise-nach-europaesche_union.html
• https://aeis.ch/einzelperson
• https://aeis.ch/einzelperson/kontaktlose-konten
• https://aeis.ch/einzelperson/fzk-freizuegigkeitskonto/barauszahlung-infolge-wegzugs-ins-ausland
• https://aeis.ch/einzelperson/fzk-freizuegigkeitskonto/todesfall
• https://www.ch.ch/en/retirement/oasi-pension-abroad/
• https://www.swissbanking.ch/en/financial-centre/information-for-clients/dormant-assets
• https://bankingombudsman.ch/en/search-for-assets/general-information/
• https://bankingombudsman.ch/en/search-for-assets/central-search/