The AHV old-age pension
When the entitlement begins, what decides the amount, and what changes if you draw the pension early — under the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance as it applies from 1 January 2026.
Who is entitled to an old-age pension
An ordinary old-age pension requires that you have reached the reference age and can be credited with at least one full contribution year (Art. 29 para. 1 AHVG). That condition is also met if your spouse paid at least twice the minimum contribution, or if you are credited with parenting or caregiving credits.
The pension is paid from the first day of the month following the one in which you reach the reference age (Art. 21 para. 2 AHVG).
Contribution years do not open the pension — they measure it
The AHV sets no minimum contribution period that decides entitlement. Someone with fewer contribution years than their birth cohort is not refused; they receive a partial pension on the pension scale (Art. 38 AHVG, Art. 52 AHVV). That is the difference from systems where missing a minimum period pays nothing at all.
What these pages cover
These pages deal with the first pillar only: the reference age and the transitional cohorts, how the amount is worked out from the two statutory tables, drawing the pension early or deferring it, and the 13th old-age pension.
Occupational provision (the second pillar) and tied private provision (pillar 3a) are not described here. They rest on different Acts, and no figure on these pages describes them.
Where to go from here
The pages below work out what this overview only names.
- Reference age — when entitlement begins, and which cohorts of women are still in the transition.
- Pension amount — what it depends on, and where the statutory tables stand in full.
- Drawing early and deferring — what starting earlier or later changes for good.
- The 13th old-age pension — who receives it, when it is paid and what it is measured against.
Ergänzungsleistungen are not a minimum pension
A full old-age pension has a statutory lower limit of 1'260.00 a month (Art. 34 para. 4 AHVG). A partial pension falls below it, because the pension scale applies to the minimum amount too.
Where the pension and other income are not enough, supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen) may come into play. They are a separate, means-tested benefit under a different Act, claimed from the Ausgleichskasse — not a floor under the AHV pension.
Where the amounts come from
All amounts are gross; the AHV pension is taxable income. The amounts in force are unchanged since 1 January 2025, because the Federal Council adjusts pensions to wage and price development as a rule every 2 years (Art. 33ter para. 1 AHVG). If the consumer price index rises by more than 4% within a year, the adjustment comes sooner.