Last update: 17.09.2024 08:36
The amount of your individual AHV old-age pension is determined by the amount of contributions you have paid in or been credited (i.e. for education, care) and the number of years of contributions.
The combination of a full contribution period with pension scale 43 (for women) or 44 for men and a sufficiently high average relevant annual income of CHF 88,200 (as at 1.1.2023) or more results in a maximum retirement pension of CHF 2,450. This is also known as the AHV maximum pension.
A distinction must be made between this and the full pension. A full AHV pension is paid to anyone who has always paid contributions from January 1 after their 20th birthday until the end of the calendar year before the normal retirement age (64 / 65). The full pension therefore says: a woman has reached pension scale 43, a man has reached pension scale 44. Otherwise there is a partial AHV pension. A partial pension means that someone has not paid in for all years. 88% of Swiss women and 88% of Swiss men who live in Switzerland have a full pension.
But even on the 43/44 pension scale (i.e. full pension) there is not always the maximum pension. This is only available if an average annual income subject to AHV contributions of CHF 88,200 or more is recorded in your individual account with the AHV compensation fund over the 44 years. If you do not have this, you will slip into a line on the previous page between the minimum pension and the full pension on the respective scale. This is why many people have a full pension. Overall, however, only 19% of Swiss women living in Switzerland and 32% of men living in Switzerland will receive a maximum pension on scale 44 in 2020.
Our tip to remember:
- Full pension simply means “paying in for a long time”. Maximum pension also means paying in a LOT.
- Maximum pension means: both conditions (long and much) fulfilled.
- Partial pension means: missing contribution years.
Ultimately, 32% of Swiss men resident in Switzerland and 27% of Swiss women resident in Switzerland will receive a maximum pension of scale 44 in 2020 (based on a combination of contribution period and average income).
Are you wondering why women still receive the maximum AHV pension despite having a lower average income? This is due to the widow(er)’s supplement of up to 20% on their own pension and the longer life expectancy of women. We’ll come to this later.
