AHV Payout for Terminally Ill

Family, Education, Health and Pets
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Hi, after 30 years in Switzerland I retired back to the UK aged 60, I have been diagnosed with stage 4 Kidney Cancer with a life expectancy of 2 years. I am now 64 I will receive my AHV Pension next year. It is unlikely that I will live long enough to receive my pension. Is it possible to claim a lump sum payout for the terminally ill. If so who would I contact?

thanks in advance…

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I am so sorry to hear your news.

I found the following, and although it’s CS, i hope it’s of some use.

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Sorry that you have such bad news. In your situation, you might want to investigate whether you can get your contributions refunded e.g. if you meet the conditions here:

https://www.zas.admin.ch/zas/en/home/particuliers/les-versements-uniques/remboursement-des-cotisations.html

Also, isn’t it possible to take the pension early? See:

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If you moved to the UK after Brexit and want to receive your Swiss pension, the rules have changed since the UK is no longer part of the EU. However, Switzerland and the UK signed a new social security agreement that took effect on Nov. 1, 2021.

This agreement largely maintains the coordination on pensions and social security rights that existed when the UK was still part of the EU. Under this agreement, lump-sum withdrawals from the Swiss AHV-AVS are generally not allowed, and you will continue to receive your Swiss pension as monthly payments, even if you moved to the UK.

This differs from non-agreement countries where lump-sum payments may be possible.

You can find a list of countries with which the Swiss govt has soc sec agreements here:

For details about whether lump-sum withdrawals are possible for a specific country, you can refer to the Fedlex publications.

For the UK: Fedlex (unfortunately only available in German, French, and Italian).

Even though the rules around Swiss soc sec have changed since Brexit, I hope this information about your pension helps provide some clarity during such a difficult time. That said, I was so saddened to read your post, and I just want to send you my deepest thoughts. Even though I can’t fully understand what you’re going through, I wanted to take a moment to wish you all the courage and strength in the world.

Medical treatments have made such incredible progress, especially in cancer care. One of my sisters is an oncologist, and through her I’ve learned that therapies are constantly evolving. As challenging as things may seem, please don’t lose hope! Medecine is not an exact science, and you may very well have more time than what you’ve been told.

I’m hoping for the best for you and wishing you peace in every moment ahead. Please take care and don’t give up on the possibility of more time and joy :face_holding_back_tears:

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Perhaps contacting this may help

https://www.ahv-iv.ch/en/Contacts/Swiss-compensation-Office-SCO

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Thanks for your kind thoughts, it seems there are a couple of possibilities that interest us:

  1. Percentage Payout
  2. Survivors/Widows Pension
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Thanks

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Thanks, very interesting…

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Thanks