Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (AVS)

If you are self-employed, you are responsible for paying your own social security contributions into the Compensation Fund.  They will be fixed provisionally on the basis of your estimated earnings for the year.  The AVS/AI/APG contributions are payable all together at a maximum rate of 10%, provided your annual income is equal to or greater than CHF 58'800.  Within this overall rate, AVS is 8.1%, AI is 1.4%, and APG is 0.50%. If your income ranges between CHF 9,800 and CHF 58'800, you benefit from a regressive rate.  If it is below CHF 9,800, you only pay the CHF 514  per annum, minimum lump-sum.  In addition, there is a 1% contribution to compensation fund administrative costs, based on the fixed contribution level.  The obligation to contribute terminates when you reach retirement age and when you cease all paid employment.  If you carry on working, contributions will be levied after deduction of an exemption of CHF 1,400 per month or CHF 16,800 per year.  If you continue employment after claiming your pension, the amount of your salary will not have any effect

You have pension entitlement when you reach retirement age (64 for a woman and 65 for a man), provided you have paid contributions for at least one complete year.  With a flexible retirement system you can obtain payment one to two years early, or postpone it by one to five years. If you take early retirement, your pension will be reduced (by 6.8% if one year early and 13.6% if two years early) and you will have to carry on paying your AVS contributions until you reach statutory retirement age.  If you decide to postpone the start of your retirement benefits, you will receive a monthly deferment supplement to complement your old-age pension. The amount of the pension depends on how much and how long you have contributed, with a maximum statutory amount per person or per couple.  This important information can be tracked thanks to your social security number (NSS) which can be found on your AVS card. You can check out your situation any time by requesting a statement of account, free of charge.

As a result of the AVS 21 Reform, the reference age women will be gradually increased by three months each year from 1 January 2025 :

In 2028, the reference age of 65 will be identical for men and women.

In order to pay contributions you must first register with the CVCI and the Compensation Funds Office.  Once affiliated, your provisional contributions will be calculated on the basis of estimated income for the year the contributions are due.  You should inform us of any major changes during the course of the year (+/-25%). The provisional contributions are payable to the Compensation Fund on a quarterly basis, and at latest on the 10th day following the end of the quarter.  In the case of late receipt of your statement of account or late payment, a default interest of 5% will be charged. Once you have provided your accounts (profit and loss account and balance sheet) you will be sent a statement of account which will set real income receipts for the year under consideration against your provisional contributions.  For the difference you will either be invoiced, or a credit note will be deducted from your next contributions.  The definitive amount of your contributions is fixed on the basis of your tax assessment.