AHV: How Your State Pension Is Calculated

Contribution years, average income, the scale 44, early and late retirement and the 13th pension.

6 min read · Retirement & Pensions

Life situations: Planning for retirement

The AHV pension depends on two things: how many years you contributed and the average income on which you contributed.

Contribution years

You contribute from age 18 (21 for employees who earn no income in-between) until the reference age. A full contribution record is 44 years for most people. Each missing year reduces your pension by about 2.3 %. Time abroad, studying without income or being a non-working spouse can create gaps. Gaps can sometimes be filled for up to five years back.

Average income

Your annual income is revalued, credits for child-raising and care are added, and an average is calculated. The result is looked up in a scale which gives the monthly pension. In 2025/26 the amounts are CHF 1,260 (minimum) to CHF 2,520 (maximum).

Early and late retirement

• You can bring forward the pension by one or two years. The pension is reduced for life by roughly 6.8 % per year.
• You can defer by one to five years for supplements of 5.2 % to 31.5 %.

The 13th pension

Following the 2024 vote, a 13th annual AHV payment is being introduced, with the first payout in December 2026. Older recipients of AHV will therefore receive one extra monthly pension each year.

Order an individual account statement at your Ausgleichskasse (it is free) and test scenarios with our early/late retirement calculator.