Drawing early and deferring
The pension can be drawn early or deferred. Drawing early has two separate permanent effects, and both have to be counted.
Drawing the pension early
The pension may be drawn from 63 years at the earliest (Art. 40 para. 1 AHVG), and from 62 years for women of the transitional generation. Either the whole pension or a share of 20%–80% may be drawn.
No children’s pensions are paid while the pension is being drawn early (Art. 40 para. 3 AHVG).
⚠️ Drawing early costs twice, not once
First, the pension is reduced by a published rate of up to 13.6%.
Second, drawing early makes the contribution period incomplete as a matter of law (Art. 40 para. 4 AHVG). The pension drawn early is therefore always a partial pension on a lower scale — even after an unbroken contribution record up to that point. Anyone who looks only at the percentage understates what drawing early costs.
For women of the transitional generation there is a third item: the loss of the pension supplement.
The reduction is fixed as a franc amount when the reference age is reached, and deducted from the pension thereafter (Art. 56bis para. 3 AHVV).
| Years \ Months | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 0.6% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3.4% | 4% | 4.5% | 5.1% | 5.7% | 6.2% |
| 1 | 6.8% | 7.4% | 7.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% | 9.6% | 10.2% | 10.8% | 11.3% | 11.9% | 12.5% | 13% |
| 2 | 13.6% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The rates are published values, not a rate per month: the printed value applies. For incomes at or below four times the minimum annual old-age pension, Art. 40a para. 3 AHVG provides for these rates to be reduced; no corresponding published table was located, and the rates shown here are the unreduced ones.
| Years \ Months | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 1 | 0% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.8% |
| 2 | 2% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.9% |
| 3 | 3% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Years \ Months | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 1% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 2.3% |
| 1 | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 3.8% | 4% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| 2 | 4.5% | 4.7% | 4.8% | 5% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 5.8% | 6% | 6.2% | 6.3% |
| 3 | 6.5% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Years \ Months | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 3.2% |
| 1 | 3.5% | 3.8% | 4% | 4.3% | 4.5% | 4.8% | 5% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 5.8% | 6% | 6.3% |
| 2 | 6.5% | 6.8% | 7.2% | 7.5% | 7.8% | 8.2% | 8.5% | 8.8% | 9.2% | 9.5% | 9.8% | 10.2% |
| 3 | 10.5% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Deferring the pension
Payment may be deferred by 1 year at least and 5 years at most, for the whole pension or a share of 20%–80% (Art. 39 para. 1 AHVG). Within that window the pension may be claimed at any time with effect from the start of the following month.
The increase reaches at most 31.5%. It applies to the AVERAGE of the deferred pensions, not to the pension in payment (Art. 55ter para. 2 AHVV).
| Years \ Months | 0–2 | 0 | 3–5 | 6–8 | 9–11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.2% | – | 6.6% | 8% | 9.4% |
| 2 | 10.8% | – | 12.3% | 13.9% | 15.5% |
| 3 | 17.1% | – | 18.8% | 20.5% | 22.2% |
| 4 | 24% | – | 25.8% | 27.7% | 29.6% |
| 5 | – | 31.5% | – | – | – |
The ordinance prints bands of months, not single months. Within a band it draws no distinction.
Combining early drawing and deferral
Anyone who has drawn part of their pension early may defer the rest for up to five years after the reference age (Art. 40b AHVG). A share drawn early may be increased once; a deferred share may be reduced once.