How much does the average Swiss Person have in pension contributions

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
I was just wondering how much an average Swiss person would have in pension contributions, if they have worked in Switzerland all of their life. I am just thinking ahead but rearlise that we won't probably have enough funds to retire in Switzerland, although after six years here our children all of whom are British, say that they are Swiss. Retirement may be in a neighbouring country, but which one!

2
I am also interested in this question.

How much do YOU have, since you are here for quite some time already?

Care to tell us?

What is an average Swiss person?

Salary range?

100kchf per year?

Married? Single?

Sorry to answer your post with more questions. But I am really interested.

3
All the data you want is provided by the government:

http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/e...03/01/key.html

Median monthly salary in 2010 is roughly 6000 CHF.

4
welcome back HAT, I am single with a partner and three children. Ok here goes my company contributes around CHF 900 / month and I match that, but I have only been employed by an employer for less than a couple of years here. Previously I was employed outside of Switzerland, although I was resident here. I don't think that the amount is bad, but not good enough to live here on retirement, I am in my mid 40's! Also it is a reason for staying here long term! Anyone else!!

5
And the pension contribution is?

6
The answer will be here:

http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/d...02/dos/00.html

7
The Pension topic is starting to interest me especially with regard to the financial / economic crisis that I see lasting for many many years.

I have been studying the financial /economic situation for the last 5 years.

I am now starting to believe that both State Pension and Private Pension contributions are Ponzi schemes.

I just do not see with the future economy in the West; governments spending the pension deductions taken from employees; the poor performance and even fraud of pension fund managers; the increase in the expected life of pensioners how the funding is going to be sufficient or even exist at retirement age.

When I was a child on holiday in Luzern in the 80's, I always remember seeing women pensioners in restaurants having coffee and cakes. I used to think that the Swiss must be rich and get big pensions because I didn't see this in the UK.

My questions to start with are on the State Pension, I assume based on AVS:

1) Is there a basic state pension (i.e. guaranteed monthly pension irrelevant of contributions made)?

2) Does the state have a means tested pension and what is this based on (Private pensions; capital etc.)?

8
Interesting subject. I have seen it a couple of times that people who worked in Switzerland for long but not long enough (10-15 years) had to move out at retirement otherwise their life standards would have plummeted.

9
An interesting topic, and something that takes up an increasing amount of my thinking too, as I sink deeper into my 50s!

Something that puzzles me is this -- in a country where there is relatively low property ownership, how on earth do pensioners afford to continue to pay rent after they have stopped working?

In the UK, one of the reasons why people are keen to buy property is to add a bit of peace of mind to their retirement. The average pensioner probably spends more on Wurther's Originals than on rent/mortgage.

We can comfortably afford our rent here while working, but we would have to be getting a heck of a pension to continue paying out this amount every month as well as enjoying the other things in life when retired. If we wanted to continue living here we would need 5K a month at a minimum, which seems like a pretty high pension compared with the UK.

I guess this is what the OP is thinking about too when asking what pension incomes are like here.

10
The policy in Switzerland is, that AHV + compulsory Pensionskasse should pay you around 80% of your previous income. I think there is a law somewhere which states, that the pension should allow you to keep your lifestyle when you retire.

11
thanks for posting this link.... I have often wondered about this information

I also found it interesting that women are making less than men.. I guess some things are relatively universal, sadly .... Sorry ladies!!

12
FTFY. It used to be like this, sadly not anymore

13

You're an accountant and you have only just realised this???????

14
Am I calculating AHV correctly - or have I missed something?

If I understand it, AHV is based on 44 years of contributions - if one has worked fewer years in Switzerland the pension is based on x/44. And, there is a fairly low cap on payments to retirees - although no cap on contributions when one is working.

OH will have worked max 15-20 years here (the first 5 were on an expat assignment, so don't count). So he will be entitiled to 15/44 of the pension amount - i.e., a few hundred francs.

OH pays well over the amount required for a non-working spouse, so I am not required to pay myself - but I also am not entitled to a pension - correct?

---

The way I see it, one can't rely on state pensions to keep a roof over one's head. Personal savings are the only way we'll be able to enjoy our twilight years.

(And those savings will go a much farther in other countries - one of the reasons we are not likely to stay here post retirement.)

15
If I'm not mistaken, the years you contributed to the pension system in your own country are counted, too. I however don't know whether there are some additional conditions.

16
Depends on the country, but this is true if you are from the US (among others).

Tom

17
One of the reasons I became a contractor, was the fact I didn't want to work over the age of 60 and given the current climate and fact that pension schemes are currently not doing so well. I thought I might as well capitalise on what I have now in terms of age and skills, so I can live comfortably in retirement.

18
How does that work? You provide a copy of your social security statement to... someone?

19
Explained here .

"If Swiss officials need to count your U.S. credits to help you qualify for a Swiss benefit, they will get a copy of your U.S. record directly from the Social Security Administration when you apply for the Swiss benefit."

Tom

20
In my case the years I contributed to the pension system in my own country provided a pension from them but did not do anything for my Swiss pension.