Switzerland AHV Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Switzerland AHV, or OASI in English, is the mandatory first-pillar social insurance scheme for people who live or work in Switzerland. It pays old-age pensions, survivors pensions, and related benefits, with entitlement and pension size determined by contributions, contribution history, and average annual income.
Switzerland AHV: Current Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Guide
Switzerland’s Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung (AHV), called Assurance vieillesse et survivants (AVS) in French and Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) in English, is the country’s mandatory first-pillar social insurance scheme. It is designed to cover basic financial needs in old age and after the death of an insured person. The scheme is not a scholarship, grant, or one-time application competition. It is an ongoing statutory benefit: people build entitlement through insurance coverage and contributions, then claim the relevant pension or supplementary benefit when the legal conditions are met.
The official Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO/BSV) describes OASI as obligatory for people who live or work in Switzerland. The official AHV information centre is the practical starting point for forms, compensation-office contacts, individual-account statements, pension estimates, and current leaflets. This page reflects the official position for 2026. Amounts and administrative rules can change, so an individual decision from the responsible compensation office always takes precedence over a general summary.
Opportunity snapshot
| Detail | Current information |
|---|---|
| Official name | Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI); AHV in German and AVS in French |
| Type | Mandatory first-pillar social insurance benefit |
| Application pattern | Rolling statutory entitlement; there is no annual application window |
| Full individual old-age pension | CHF 1,260 to CHF 2,520 per month, depending on the pension scale and relevant average annual income |
| Married-couple ceiling | CHF 3,780 per month for the combined old-age pensions of a married couple, equal to 150% of the maximum individual pension |
| 13th old-age pension | First paid in December 2026; equal to one-twelfth of the annual old-age pension amount |
| Responsible body | The relevant OASI compensation office; the Swiss Compensation Office is the contact for people living abroad |
| Main application form | Form 318.370, application for an old-age pension |
| Official source | AHV/IV Information Center and the FSIO OASI overview |
The amounts in the snapshot are full-pension amounts. They do not mean that every insured person receives the maximum. The pension depends on the person’s contribution years, the applicable pension scale, and the relevant average annual income. A contribution gap can reduce the result even when the person otherwise qualifies for an old-age pension.
Who is covered and who can claim
Living or working in Switzerland generally creates an OASI contribution obligation. A person in paid employment begins paying salary contributions from 1 January of the year after turning 17. A person who is not in paid employment normally has a contribution obligation from 1 January after turning 20. The exact position can differ for people covered by international agreements, diplomatic rules, or other statutory exceptions, so foreign nationals and cross-border workers should ask the responsible compensation office rather than assume that nationality alone decides coverage.
Employees are normally handled through their employer’s compensation office. The employer withholds the employee share and transfers it together with the employer share. Self-employed people must establish their status with a compensation office, which assesses the economic facts of the activity. People without gainful employment, including some early retirees and students, may have to register and pay contributions based on assets and pension income. A spouse or registered partner can sometimes fulfil the other partner’s contribution obligation when the employed partner pays at least twice the minimum OASI contribution for the year.
To claim an old-age pension, the person must reach the applicable reference age or choose a permitted early or deferred retirement route. The official FSIO summary says that an old-age pension is available to someone who reaches retirement age and has paid OASI contributions. A person who has paid contributions for the entire contribution period receives a full pension. Someone with missing contribution or insurance periods normally receives only a partial pension. Missing periods may sometimes be paid retroactively, but the official rule limits this to gaps in the previous five years and requires that the person was insured during the relevant period.
2026 reference ages and flexible retirement
The reference age is 65 for men. For women, AHV21 is raising the reference age in three-month steps. The official 2026 table gives the following transition:
| Woman’s year of birth | Reference age |
|---|---|
| Up to 1960 | 64 |
| 1961 | 64 years and 3 months |
| 1962 | 64 years and 6 months |
| 1963 | 64 years and 9 months |
| From 1964 | 65 |
From 2028, the reference age is 65 for both men and women. Women born between 1961 and 1969 may qualify for transition-generation compensation measures if they start their old-age pension at the reference age or later. The official flexible-retirement leaflet explains that these measures do not apply in the same way when a person takes the pension early; an affected woman should get an individual calculation from her compensation office.
Flexible retirement permits an old-age pension to begin early from age 63. Women born between 1961 and 1969 can continue to begin early from age 62 under the transition rules. Early withdrawal can be taken by individual months, and a person can draw between 20% and 80% of the pension early rather than taking the entire amount. The portion taken early is permanently reduced under the applicable actuarial rules. The official leaflet lists a 6.8% reduction for one full year and 13.6% for two full years for the standard calculation, while noting that special rates apply to some women in the transition generation and that the rates are being adjusted for later periods.
Deferral is also possible. A person who has reached the reference age can defer all or part of the old-age pension for between one and five years. The deferred portion becomes an increased pension when claimed. A deferred pension is not paid automatically simply because the maximum period has ended; the claimant must submit the relevant claim. Partial early withdrawal and partial deferral can be combined, but the permitted share and timing rules matter. These choices affect a person for the rest of the pension period, so an official pension estimate is more useful than applying a generic percentage to the headline maximum.
Pension amounts and the new 13th payment
For a complete contribution record, the official current full-pension range is CHF 1,260 to CHF 2,520 per month. The minimum applies at the lower end of the relevant-income scale and the maximum applies at the upper end. The FSIO explains that the calculation uses three practical inputs: the person’s age at retirement, the length of time contributions were paid, and the average annual income used for the pension calculation. Parenting and care credits can also affect that calculation.
When both spouses receive old-age pensions, their combined old-age pensions are subject to a ceiling of CHF 3,780 per month. This is 150% of the CHF 2,520 maximum individual pension. The ceiling concerns the combined old-age pensions of a married couple; it is not a promise that each spouse receives half of the ceiling. The compensation office calculates the individual amounts and applies the statutory cap.
The 13th old-age pension is no longer merely a proposed reform. The Federal Social Insurance Office announced that the first payment will be made in December 2026. People who have a right to an old-age pension in December are entitled to the additional payment. It is calculated as one-twelfth of the annual sum of old-age pensions and is paid as an addition to the December old-age pension. Children’s pensions and the transition-generation supplement for women are not included in the calculation described by the official announcement.
The 13th payment applies to old-age pensions, not to every benefit administered through the wider social-insurance system. The official announcement says that survivors pensions for widows, widowers, and orphans and invalidity pensions continue to be paid twelve times per year. It also says that the 13th old-age pension does not affect the calculation of supplementary benefits. This distinction is important for anyone who receives several kinds of Swiss social-insurance payment.
Contributions in practice
For employees, the official salary-contribution leaflet describes the combined OASI, disability-insurance, and income-compensation contribution as 10.6% of the relevant salary: 5.3% is withheld from the employee and 5.3% is paid by the employer. The OASI component is 8.7% in total, with the employee and employer sharing the contribution. The employer handles the remittance to the compensation office, so an employee normally does not submit a separate OASI payment each month.
Self-employed people pay the full OASI, disability-insurance, and income-compensation rates themselves. The official 2026 self-employed leaflet gives a total rate of 10.0% at annual income of at least CHF 60,500, with a declining scale below that amount. If annual income is below CHF 10,100, the minimum contribution is CHF 530. A self-employed person should register early, provide the compensation office with reliable income information, and report significant changes so that provisional invoices are not badly out of line with the eventual tax assessment.
People without gainful employment are assessed differently. The contribution is based on assets and pension income and is determined by the compensation office in the canton of residence. The official 2026 leaflet gives a minimum of CHF 530 per year and a maximum of CHF 26,500 per year, before any permitted administration charge. A person who stops working before the reference age should not simply stop paying: they should contact the compensation office to determine whether non-employed contributions are due.
Continuing to work after the reference age does not end the contribution obligation. A personal allowance of CHF 16,800 per year, or CHF 1,400 per month when calculated by month, is not subject to contributions. Contributions above the allowance can be considered in a later pension recalculation under the AHV21 rules, subject to the legal limits and a request for recalculation. The compensation office can explain whether continued contributions would fill a gap or increase a pension that is below the maximum.
How to apply for an old-age pension
OASI does not automatically start paying an old-age pension just because a person reaches the reference age. The claimant should submit an application approximately three to four months before reaching the reference age. The same practical lead time is recommended for an early-retirement claim, submitted before the requested start date. The reason for the lead time is administrative: the compensation office may need to obtain contribution information, verify the individual account, calculate the pension, and request supporting documents.
Use the official application form 318.370, available from the AHV benefits forms page, from an OASI compensation office, or from one of its branches. The online forms page is updated for the current form state, but only a limited choice of forms is available in English. Applicants who need help should contact the compensation office rather than submit an incomplete form.
The practical process is:
- Identify the responsible compensation office. For an employee, this is commonly the office to which the most recent employer paid contributions. A self-employed person should use the office with which they are registered. The official contacts page lists cantonal, professional, federal, and Swiss compensation offices.
- Request an individual-account statement if the contribution record is unclear. The statement shows recorded income, contribution periods, and credits. Check it before the pension calculation if there may be missing years.
- Complete form 318.370 and choose the intended route: pension at the reference age, partial or full early withdrawal, or deferral. Do not write a desired start date that conflicts with the statutory notice rules for early withdrawal.
- Attach the documents requested by the compensation office. Depending on the case, this can include identity and civil-status information, bank details, employment or self-employment information, evidence relevant to international coverage, and documents needed to resolve contribution gaps.
- Submit the application to the compensation office and keep proof of submission. The office will calculate entitlement and issue the formal decision. If calculation takes longer than expected, ask the office what interim payment rules apply.
People living abroad should use the Swiss Compensation Office route shown on the official forms and contacts pages. International coordination depends on the person’s work history, residence, nationality, and the applicable social-security agreement. A person who worked in Switzerland should not assume that leaving the country cancels all entitlement or guarantees a refund; the Swiss Compensation Office can determine the correct route.
Survivors pensions and supplementary benefits
AHV also provides survivors pensions. A widow, widower, or orphan must meet the specific statutory conditions, and the amount is calculated under the survivors-pension rules rather than the old-age-pension rules. The official benefits forms page provides form 318.371 for a survivors-pension application. Because family status, children’s ages, marriage history, and the deceased person’s insurance record can change the result, survivors should contact the compensation office promptly and request the relevant application rather than relying on a simple percentage copied from an old summary.
Supplementary benefits, commonly called EL or PC, are separate from the ordinary AHV pension. They may help when recognized income and assets do not cover recognized living costs. They are not automatic. The FSIO says that a person who wants supplementary benefits must apply to the responsible cantonal PC/EL office, usually located within or alongside the cantonal OASI office, and provide details of income and assets with supporting documents. The calculation can include the AHV pension, other income, wealth, rent, health-insurance costs, and legally recognized living expenses. Eligibility is individual and should be assessed by the cantonal office.
What applicants should check
The most useful preparation is recordkeeping. Request the individual-account statement well before retirement, compare it with employment and contribution records, and ask the compensation office about any discrepancy. A missing contribution year can reduce a pension for the entire period of entitlement. The official source says that retroactive correction is limited, so waiting until the pension application is already being processed can make a preventable problem harder to resolve.
Applicants should also separate the three Swiss pension pillars. AHV is the first pillar and supplies the statutory basic pension. Occupational pension funds form the second pillar for people who meet the compulsory conditions, while private provision forms the third pillar. The amount shown on an AHV decision is therefore not a forecast of total retirement income. It is the OASI component, subject to the individual contribution record and pension calculation.
Finally, keep the December 2026 change in the right category. The 13th payment is an additional old-age-pension payment for people entitled to an old-age pension in December. It does not turn AHV into a general annual bonus for every survivor or invalidity beneficiary, and it does not replace an application. A claimant still needs the ordinary pension decision and should use the compensation office for questions about the first payment.
Official resources
- Federal Social Insurance Office: Old-age insurance system
- AHV/IV Information Center: Old-age and survivors insurance
- AHV benefits and application forms
- Flexible retirement leaflet, position as of 1 January 2026
- Contributions for non-employed people, position as of 1 January 2026
- Federal Social Insurance Office announcement on the first 13th payment
AHV is an ongoing Swiss social-insurance entitlement, so the correct deadline value for this page is rolling. There is no closed annual cycle to archive. The current official destination remains the AHV/IV Information Center, and the responsible compensation office is the authority that turns these general rules into an individual pension decision.