Advanced withdrawal possible by one or two years
With the “AHV 21” reform, which came into force in January 2024, the statutory reference age for women has now also risen from 64 to 65. This means that Swiss men and women are on an equal footing in terms of the reference age.
If desired, the AHV pension can be drawn up to two years earlier. This also applies if you remain in gainful employment. For women of the transitional generation (1961 – 1969), early withdrawal is still possible from the age of 62 (not included in the calculation). However, early withdrawal leads to a reduction in the AHV pension of 6.8 % per year.
| Min. AHV pension (per month) | Max. AHV pension (per month) | |
| CHF 1,225 | CHF 2,450 | |
| Advance withdrawal by 1 year | CHF 1,141 (-84) | CHF 2,283 (-167) |
| Advance withdrawal by 2 years | CHF 1,058 (-167) | CHF 2,116 (-334) |
As of 1 January 2024, it will also be possible to make an advance withdrawal of part of the pension (between 20 and 80 %). In addition, it is possible to increase this portion once.
Is it worth an early withdrawal?
Dependent on remaining life expectancy
As a rule, an early withdrawal of AHV is not worthwhile. At the beginning, more money is available. But the advantage quickly evaporates. Already at the age of 78 (from 77 for women), you will have received more money from the AHV if you waive the early withdrawal.
However, the average remaining life expectancy at the time of early withdrawal is significantly higher for both men and women:
- Remaining life expectancy man approx. 84 years
- Remaining life expectancy woman approx. 87 years
Important: With the AHV 21 reform, which will come into force on 1 January 2024, there is special treatment for low incomes. If the average annual income is lower than four times the minimum annual AHV pension, the pension will be reduced less in the case of an early withdrawal (40% less reduction). For this income category, an early withdrawal is therefore significantly more attractive.
This is how we calculated
We have assumed a maximum pension and extrapolated it to one year. This results in the following annual pension payments:
- Maximum annual pension without early withdrawal: 29,400 francs
- Maximum annual pension early withdrawal by 1 year: 27,396 francs
- Maximum annual pension early withdrawal by 2 years: 25,392 Swiss francs
We have added up the pensions without interest. This shows that for the first time, at the age of 78, the man’s pension income without early withdrawal exceeds that with early withdrawal.
| Age | Without early withdrawal | Advance withdrawal by 1 year | Advance withdrawal by 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 25,392 | ||
| 64 | 27,396 | 50,784 | |
| 65 | 29,400 | 54,792 | 76,176 |
| 66 | 58,800 | 82,188 | 101,568 |
| 67 | 88,200 | 109,584 | 126,960 |
| 68 | 117,600 | 136,980 | 152,352 |
| 69 | 147,000 | 164,376 | 177,744 |
| 70 | 176,400 | 191,772 | 203,136 |
| 71 | 205,800 | 219,168 | 228,528 |
| 72 | 235,200 | 246,564 | 253,920 |
| 73 | 264,600 | 273,960 | 279,312 |
| 74 | 294,000 | 301,356 | 304,704 |
| 75 | 323,400 | 328,752 | 330,096 |
| 76 | 352,800 | 356,148 | 355,488 |
| 77 | 382,200 | 383,544 | 380,880 |
| 78 | 411,600 | 410,940 | 406,272 |
| 79 | 441,000 | 438,336 | 431,664 |
| 80 | 470,400 | 465,732 | 457,056 |
| 81 | 499,800 | 493,128 | 482,448 |
| 82 | 529,200 | 520,524 | 507,840 |
| 83 | 558,600 | 547,920 | 533,232 |
| 84 | 588,000 | 575,316 | 558,624 |
| 85 | 617,400 | 602,712 | 584,016 |
| 86 | 646,800 | 630,108 | 609,408 |
| 87 | 676,200 | 657,504 | 634,800 |
| 88 | 705,600 | 684,900 | 660,192 |
| 89 | 735,000 | 712,296 | 685,584 |
| 90 | 764,400 | 739,692 | 710,976 |
| 91 | 793,800 | 767,088 | 736,368 |
| 92 | 823,200 | 794,484 | 761,760 |
| 93 | 852,600 | 821,880 | 787,152 |
| 94 | 882,000 | 849,276 | 812,544 |
| 95 | 911,400 | 876,672 | 837,936 |
| 96 | 940,800 | 904,068 | 863,328 |
| 97 | 970,200 | 931,464 | 888,720 |
| 98 | 999,600 | 958,860 | 914,112 |
| 99 | 1,029,000 | 986,256 | 939,504 |
| 100 | 1,058,400 | 1,013,652 | 964,896 |
AHV contribution obligation remains
While you take your pension in advance, you must continue to pay AHV contributions.
- If you are no longer gainfully employed, you must pay the AHV contribution for those who are not gainfully employed. It amounts to at least 514 francs for single persons and double that for married persons.
- If you remain in gainful employment, you must pay the regular AHV contributions until the statutory reference age. Thanks to the “AHV 21” reform, new provisions on tax-free contributions apply from the age of 65.
The AHV annuity is recalculated when the statutory reference age is reached. Not paying in the minimum amount can lead to a contribution gap and thus to an avoidable reduction of the AHV pension.
Impact on other pensions
The early withdrawal may have an impact on other pensions. If you think that you are affected, we recommend the AHV compensation office explains the situation to you.
Child’s pension
Pension-eligible persons are entitled to a Child’s Pension for children under the age of 18 or in education up to the age of 25. This child’s pension is not paid during the period of early withdrawal, but only from the time of retirement.
Disability and survivors’ pension
The entitlement to a disability or survivor’s pension expires with the early withdrawal of the AHV pension.
Widows’, widowers’ and orphans’ pensions
If the mentioned survivors’ annuities replace the AHV retirement annuities, the survivors’ annuities will be reduced by the same amount.
Registration necessary
The advance withdrawal of the AHV annuity must be registered. In the online form for registering a retirement pension, you can answer “Yes” or “No” to the question “Do you want to make an early withdrawal of your retirement pension?” in section 8. Flexible retirement age.