Retirement age Switzerland 2021 Women's pension brought forward

Retirement age in Switzerland in 2026

Changing the retirement age throughout Switzerland is a recurring topic of debate. Recently, there was a decision that the retirement age for women should be changed. Reference age from 64 to 65 is raised.

In this article you will find out how much the Retirement age for women and men is current and whether the retirement age can and should be increased.

Furthermore, the focus is also on the early withdrawal of the pension and what consequences this has for you. For all those who only wanted to know 2 numbers, here is the current answer: 

Retirement age Women 64 65

Retirement age men 65

If you have any more questions on the topic, we look forward to an exchange in the comments!

Table of contents

Retirement age Switzerland History

A few fascinating facts about the history of the retirement age in Switzerland: 

  • The law on the AHV was passed in 1948. At that time with a Minimum pension of CHF 40 (this currently stands at CHF 1,232 in 2026)
  • For Men is that Retirement age unchanged at 65 since 1948
  • Women also initially had a retirement age of 65. It was then gradually lowered to 62. and subsequently increased again. Since 2005, the retirement age for women in Switzerland has been 64 and since then also a Advance withdrawal possible.
  • Only since 1997 has the Income splitting (what was earned within the marriage is shared. Especially for divorced women this meant an enormous improvement)..

Retirement age 2026: What applies and is feasible?

increase retirement age postpone pension retirement age women Switzerland
Important: For women born in 1961 or later, the retirement age will gradually be raised to 65.

Health care is constantly improving, and the life expectancy of the population is also increasing. The retirement age is virtually not moving, so who will pay the pension if there are fewer and fewer children?

These are questions that should be on everyone's mind. But what if I am still fit, enjoy my work or simply need the money? You can ask the Postpone pension by up to 1-5 years! 

Retirement age for women in Switzerland: New 65!

It was decided: The same reference age for retirement should now apply to women and men. Women and men should now retire at the age of 65. go.

Since women were previously allowed to retire at 64, the Adaptation implemented piecemeal:

  • Women until Born 1960 go with 64 Retired
  • Women with Born 1961 go with 64 + 3 months Retired
  • Women with Born 1962 go with 64 + 6 months Retired
  • Women with Year 1963 go with 64 + 9 months Retired
  • Women with Year of birth 1964 or later go at 65 Retired

You can find more information about the adjustment directly at the SVA Zurich.

Retirement age Switzerland Men: Nothing has changed for men, the reference age remains at 65.

defer retirement

When you reach the normal retirement age, you are not forced to stop working. On the contrary, you have the Possibility to retire 1-5 years laterby deferring your retirement age. The old-age pension is then increased according to the deferral. 

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Reduce retirement age - early withdrawal AHV

An early withdrawal of the AHV or a reduction of the pension is possible by 1-2 Years possible.

Advance AHV by 1 year:

If you shorten your retirement age by 1 year, you accept a reduction of 6.8% in your pension.

Advance AHV by 2 years: 

If you retire 2 years early, you lose 13.6% in pension. A price that some people should consider carefully. Those who have made other provisions, do not need more to live on, or have other reasons can take advantage of this. Particularly with a sensibly used 3rd pillar or own investments, some Swiss people help themselves to a security in old age. Unfortunately, this is only a small percentage of the population. A pension full of health, which can be enjoyed free of financial worries, is desirable for everyone.

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Conclusion on the Swiss retirement age

The Swiss retirement age has not moved for many years, but now it has!

However, our population is ageing and ultimately we should be not blindly rely on the AHV. In Schwiizerfranke's view, the retirement age throughout Switzerland should be decoupled from politics anyway and linked to life expectancy. Gladly, in the Switzerland Retirement age adjustments namely Used politically for profiling and the real issue is pushed into the background. A small start was at least the announcement: retirement age for women adjusted throughout Switzerland.

Voluntary pension provision is therefore recommended. In the 3rd pillar there is tax back and thanks to new solutions even 100% shares are no longer a problem!

What are you still missing on the subject? And when would you like to retire?

Feel free to leave a comment!

8 responses

  1. Hello Erich
    I took partial retirement on 1 March. I now have to invest my pension money. I have a remaining life expectancy of 25 years.
    My strategy is clear, as we own property, I would like to invest 60 % in equities and 40 % in bonds (ETF). I know a lot about equity investments. But not with bonds and debentures. I have therefore done some research and found out about http://www.justetf.com ETF searched and suitable products sought.
    The following points are important to me:
    1. low costs / fees for buying and selling.
    2. low recurring administrative costs (TER).
    3. not too many funds. I.e. max. 4.
    4. 80-100 % in CHF
    5. low costs / fees
    You can see my selection below. I have two questions to choose from?
    - Do you or a blogger see any obstacles in the selection process, such as overlaps, high risks, high costs, etc.?
    - Can you recommend alternative funds that fulfil points 1-5 above even better?

    BEKB Obligationenfonds - BEKB Obligationen Global Unternehmensanleihen Nt hedged Fonds CH0291177852
    UBS ETF (LU) SBI® Foreign AAA-BBB 1-5 ESG UCITS ETF LU0879397742
    UBS ETF (LU) SBI® Foreign AAA-BBB 5-10 ESG UCITS ETF (CHF) A-dis LU0879399441
    UBS Bonds CHF Corp NSL I A acc CH0348320497
    Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF CHF Hedged Accumulating IE00BG47KF31
    Vanguard FTSE All World ETF CHF IE00B3RBWM25

    Kind regards
    Tom Hirschi

    Reply

    1. Dear Tom,

      I would like to suggest an alternative way of looking at your investment strategy.

      Thinking in "pots" can be a useful addition to your existing strategy:

      1st **Consumption pot**: This could cover the first 10 years or so of your requirements. More conservative, more liquid investments tend to be suitable here.

      2 **Growth pot**: This is aimed at the medium-term phase of your retirement.

      3 **Long-term pot**: For the later time horizon of your planning.

      This division allows you to treat different investment periods differently and regularly switch between the pots. This allows you to reduce the investment risk, which is particularly relevant in the decumulation phase.

      About your selected bonds:
      - The combination of different maturities (UBS SBI 1-5 and 5-10 years) offers good diversification in the current interest rate environment
      - The Vanguard Global Aggregate with CHF hedging provides international diversification
      - The BEKB funds and UBS Bonds CHF supplement the portfolio with corporate bonds

      In view of your criteria (low costs, few funds, CHF focus), your selections are basically correct. You could possibly reduce the number to 2-3 products to further reduce complexity.

      The Vanguard FTSE All World ETF for the equity component offers very broad global diversification at low cost.

      I hope these thoughts help you with your further planning!

      Reply

  2. I worked in Lausanne for 13 months: 1993-94. As a UK citizen I guess there might be a small amount of money I could claim for, in a few years time? (even though I didn't earn that much....). But I imagine that small amount must have appreciated a bit. Thanks in advance _ C

    Reply

  3. Hello everyone, I have a good friend, she has been working in Switzerland for 8 years with residence in Switzerland.
    Now she wants to leave Switzerland and return to Germany.
    Does she have pension rights in Switzerland ?
    What does she have to keep in mind when moving to Germany so that she doesn't lose anything?
    Many thanks
    Greetings Günter Bähr

    Reply

    1. Hello Günter
      if she had an income subject to AHV, she also has pension rights.
      She should definitely contact the relevant offices and clarify everything.

      Your funds in the Pension Fund will be reduced to a Vested benefits account sent. There are still some things to consider here, see the article.

      Reply

    2. Buongiorno
      Ho 48 anni residente in Italia,ho iniziato a lavorare 14anni ad oggi ho compiuto 34anni di lavoro di cui 10 anni da frontaliere, ad oggi mi mancherebbero circa 9 anni a fare il cumulo con quelli Italiani, ma se dovessi lavorare fino a 65 come previsto dalla Svizzera vuol dire che lavoro circa per 50
      anni !!!...esiste qualche agevolazione per i lavoratori precoci? grazie mille

      Reply
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