Switzerland pension questions

English

• Can I get my Swiss AHV pension if I live abroad?

  The authority's own wording is blunt: no application, no benefit, and it recommends filing three to four months before reference age. In the first pillar, one single full year of credited contributions is enough to qualify, and the full monthly pension runs from CHF 1,260 to CHF 2,520 on scale 44, unchanged since 1 January 2025 and confirmed for 1 January 2026.

  • Source: zas.admin.ch and ahv-iv.ch, read 3 October 2026
  • Source: bsv.admin.ch and ahv-iv.ch, read 3 October 2026

• Can I get my Swiss AHV contributions refunded?

  Nationals of countries with no Swiss social security agreement can apply for the AHV contribution refund (Rueckverguetung) once they are permanently settled abroad. The Zentrale Ausgleichsstelle (ZAS), the federal body that administers this refund, states on its own page that a refund of paid AHV contributions is available to persons holding the nationality of a country with which Switzerland has no social security agreement (naming Australia, Brazil, China, India, the Philippines, South Korea, Tunisia and Uruguay among those covered under conditions), provided at least one year of contributions was paid and the applicant, spouse and children under 25 have left Switzerland.

  • Source: zas.admin.ch, read 1 September 2026

• Do Swiss pensioners abroad need a life certificate?

  Swiss pensioners living abroad are sent a life-and-civil-status certificate every year and must return it, signed by their local authority and with a copy of their ID, within 90 days. Death data is received automatically for Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Croatia; anyone who receives no form need do nothing.

  • Source: zas.admin.ch, read 1 September 2026
  • Source: zas.admin.ch, read 1 September 2026

• Can I fill gaps in my Swiss AHV contributions?

  Missing contributions can only be paid for gaps in the last five years; older gaps cannot be made good, and each missing year lowers the pension. Outstanding AHV contributions, including gap filling arrears, can no longer be asserted or paid once five years have passed from the end of the calendar year for which they are owed.

  • Source: ahv-iv.ch, ch.ch, eda.admin.ch and aeis.ch, read 3 October 2026
  • Source: fedlex.admin.ch, read 1 September 2026

• Can I join Swiss voluntary AHV after leaving Switzerland?

  To join the Swiss voluntary OASI/DI (AHV/IV) scheme after leaving compulsory Swiss insurance, the application form must be submitted within one year of the end of compulsory insurance. Members of the Swiss voluntary OASI/DI scheme abroad must pay the full contributions owed for a calendar year before 31 December of the following year or they are thrown out of the scheme.

  • Source: ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026

• What happens to my Swiss pension fund when I leave Switzerland?

  If a person left Switzerland without telling their occupational pension fund (2nd pillar) where to send their vested benefits, and did not take a cash payment, the fund must transfer the money to the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution (Auffangeinrichtung) at the latest two years after they left. In the second pillar, money left behind moves off the employer's books within six months to two years, then moves again ten years after reference age.

  • Source: ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026
  • Source: ahv-iv.ch, ch.ch, eda.admin.ch and aeis.ch, read 3 October 2026

• Why do I need my AHV number?

  The federal online portal built for people living outside Switzerland runs on an AGOV federal login, asks for the 13 digit AHV number and date of birth, posts an activation code to the correspondence address already on file, and confirms sign in through an app on a smartphone. The central register that shows which compensation office holds your account will not run without that same 13 digit number either.

  • Source: zas.admin.ch and ahv-iv.ch, read 3 October 2026