1st Pillar · AHV
Calculate Your AHV Pension: What's Left for Retirement?
The AHV is the foundation of your retirement — yet few people know how high their pension will actually be. It depends on your contribution years and your average income, not on a fixed amount. We show you where you stand.
This calculator estimates your 1st-pillar AHV pension — alone or as a couple. You see the transition from salary to pension, how the couple ceiling reduces both pensions, and what the surviving person receives if one partner dies.
Clarity about your foundation.
Your AHV pension is an important start — but rarely the whole story. We help you make sense of your numbers and plan with confidence.
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Estimate only, not binding — the official pension projection from your compensation office is what counts.
Calculation basis ▾
Legal note ▾
This calculator provides a simplified, non-binding estimate based on the official 2026 AHV values (scale 44, revaluation and ceiling rules). It does not reflect every individual factor — such as your exact contribution record, voluntary contributions, international social-security agreements or future changes in the law — and is not legally binding for the compensation office (Ausgleichskasse). Only the official pension projection from your compensation office is authoritative. The further away your retirement, the less certain the estimate, as it relies on assumed future income. This calculation does not constitute tax, legal or pension advice.
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Questions about your AHV pension?
Here's what most people wonder.
The essentials on your 1st-pillar pension — the amount, the couple ceiling, survivors and how it fits with the rest of your retirement, in plain language.
What is the maximum AHV pension in 2026?
The maximum individual AHV old-age pension is CHF 2,520 per month (full contribution years, scale 44); the minimum is CHF 1,260. For married couples the sum of both pensions is capped at CHF 3,780 (150 % of the maximum).
What determines the size of my AHV pension?
Two things: your contribution years (a full pension needs the complete contribution period, scale 44) and your relevant average annual income, including parenting and caregiving credits. The pension is degressive — lower incomes are weighted more heavily — and is capped at the maximum once your average income reaches CHF 90,720.
What is scale 44?
Scale 44 is the pension table for a full pension — it applies when you reach the complete contribution period. If contribution years are missing, you land on a lower scale (1–43) and receive a proportionally reduced partial pension.
How is the couple ceiling (plafonierung) calculated?
Once both spouses draw a pension, the two individual pensions are added up. If the total exceeds CHF 3,780 per month, both pensions are reduced proportionally. The ceiling only applies while both partners receive a pension — and each pension is still paid separately to each person’s own account.
Why is each pension paid separately?
Even as a married couple, each person has their own pension entitlement. Even when the ceiling reduces both pensions, each pension is paid separately into that person’s own account.
What is income splitting for couples?
During the years of marriage, the income of both partners is split equally between them (splitting). This happens once both are retired, on widowhood, or on divorce. That way your shared earning history flows into both individual pensions.
What happens with contribution gaps?
Every missing contribution year lowers your pension — by roughly 1/44 per missing year. Gaps typically arise from years abroad when you did not pay into the Swiss AHV. If you paid in early in life, you can partly fill such gaps with “youth years”.
When do AHV contributions start – and what are “youth years”?
Employed people are AHV-liable from the year after their 17th birthday (so from 18); it is mandatory for everyone from the year after the 20th birthday (from 21). The contribution period for a full pension counts from 21. But if you already paid in at 18–20 (e.g. apprenticeship or job), you collect up to three “youth years”. These are used to fill later contribution gaps (e.g. from years abroad) – each gap filled this way raises the pension again by about 1/44.
What are parenting and caregiving credits?
These are notional incomes added to your average income — for years in which you raised children or cared for relatives. They raise your pension even if you earned less or nothing during that time. For married couples they are credited half to each partner.
What is the 13th AHV pension?
From December 2026 an additional monthly pension is paid each year (one twelfth of the annual old-age pension, rounded to whole francs). Transitional supplements (women, AHV 21), child and additional pensions are not counted. Only old-age pensions are paid 13 times — survivor’s and disability pensions stay at 12 payments.
How accurate is this calculator?
The calculator uses a simplified method based on the official calculation rules — it gives a hypothetical estimate and is not binding for the compensation office (Ausgleichskasse). The further away your retirement is, the more uncertain the estimate, because future income is estimated. For a binding statement, contact your compensation office.
Do widows and widowers receive the same survivor’s pension?
No. In the 1st pillar a widow is entitled with children, or from age 45 after at least five years of marriage. A widower is only entitled if he has children — childless widowers have no claim. The survivor’s pension is 80 % of the deceased person’s pension; each child also receives an orphan’s pension of 40 %.
Does a man receive a widow(er) supplement if his wife dies?
Yes. The 20 % widow(er) supplement on the own old-age pension (capped at the maximum) is gender-neutral and applies to widows and widowers alike — even childless ones. This is separate from the widower’s pension itself (80 % of the deceased’s pension), which a man only receives if he has children.
How long is the orphan’s pension paid?
The orphan’s pension (40 % of the deceased parent’s pension) is paid until age 18. If the child is still in education it continues — at most until age 25. If both parents are already over 25 at retirement, there is usually no longer a claim.
Does cohabitation count for AHV survivor benefits?
No. The 1st pillar does not recognise cohabitation. Only marriage or a registered partnership are covered. If an unmarried partner dies, the surviving partner receives nothing from the AHV — only joint children receive an orphan’s pension.
Is a divorced ex-wife entitled to a widow’s pension?
Yes, but under stricter conditions: children and at least ten years of marriage, OR over 45 at divorce and at least ten years of marriage, OR the youngest child turns 18 after she turned 45. Since the Federal Court ruling of 16 Dec 2024 a divorced man with children is also entitled to a widower’s pension. Divorced ex-partners do not receive the widow(er) supplement.
What is a full-orphan’s pension?
If a child loses both parents, it receives a full-orphan’s pension. It is higher than the ordinary orphan’s pension — 60 % instead of 40 % of the relevant pension.
Is there a 13th payment on the widow’s or widower’s pension?
No. The 13th pension is paid only on old-age pensions — widow’s, widower’s, orphan’s and disability pensions stay at 12 payments a year. This matters once you reach reference age as a surviving spouse: the compensation office then pays whichever pension is higher over the year. Because your own old-age pension is paid 13 times (including the 20 % widowed supplement) while the survivor’s pension is paid only 12, the old-age pension can add up to more over the year — even when the monthly survivor’s amount looks higher. The higher annual amount is paid automatically. Source: AHV leaflet 3.01, sections 3 and 26.
From what age can I draw the AHV pension?
The ordinary reference age depends on your date of birth and gender. For women there are transitional cohorts: those born in 1961 reach the reference age at 64 years and 3 months; from the 1964 cohort it is 65 — the same as for men.
Can I draw the AHV pension earlier or defer it?
Yes. You can draw the pension early from 63 — to the month, with a reduction per month of early withdrawal. Or you can defer it until 70 and receive a supplement. The calculator accounts for both.
Who has to pay AHV contributions?
Employed people are AHV-liable from the year after their 17th birthday (from 18). It is mandatory for everyone — including the non-employed — from the year after the 20th birthday (from 21). Anyone with gaps, e.g. from years abroad, receives a lower pension later.
How do years abroad affect my pension?
Anyone who spends years abroad and does not pay into the Swiss AHV collects no contribution years during that time — gaps arise that lower the later pension. For expats it is therefore worth looking at the whole contribution history, not just the Swiss years.
How does the AHV interact with the 2nd and 3rd pillar?
The AHV is the 1st pillar and covers the subsistence minimum in old age — it replaces only part of your former income. The pension fund (2nd pillar) and pillar 3a are added to close the gap. Only all three pillars together show what your retirement looks like financially.
Is the AHV pension taxable?
Yes. The AHV pension is fully taxable as income and must be declared in your tax return. How much it weighs depends on your other income and your municipality.
Does FIN review my AHV situation with me?
Yes. We go through your contribution history and the calculator result with you, place it in your overall picture, and tell you honestly where you stand — especially if you spent years abroad or suspect gaps.
How does FIN charge?
We work on a transparent, fee-only basis — agreed up front, with no commissions and no product sales. You get independent advice, not a pitch.
Is the AHV enough for my retirement?
The AHV covers the foundation, but rarely your full accustomed standard of living. Whether it is enough for your plans depends on your pension fund, pillar 3a and your goals. That overall picture is exactly what we plan with you — neutral and based on your numbers.
The AHV is only the beginning.
Your AHV pension tells you what the foundation provides. Whether that is enough for your plans only emerges from the full picture: 1st pillar, pension fund, pillar 3a and your taxes thought through together.
FIN guides you independently — so your decisions rest on your numbers, not on a product.
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