Pension question, Switzerland
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.
What to do next
- Check whether your nationality is one with no Swiss social security agreement.
- Note the date you, and any family, left Switzerland.
- Run our free check to see which other countries may hold a pension in your name.
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Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.
Run the free checkQuestions people also ask
What happens to the second pillar money?
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.
Do you give advice on what to do?
No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.