How your pension is built
Two factors: average yearly income over your career and completeness of contribution years (missing years cut the pension by roughly 1/44 each). Employed people contribute automatically; the non-working spouse can be covered via the working partner above a threshold – but check, gaps here are common.
What internationals should do
Order your individual account statement (Kontoauszug) every few years – free, and errors are fixable. Leaving Switzerland? Depending on nationality and treaties, AHV may be paid abroad or (for some non-treaty states) refunded – clarify BEFORE departure.
Plan with real numbers
Your AHV statement plus pension fund certificate beat every generic estimate.
Track these costs in your own budget: create your free Swiss budget in BudgetHub – in English, with Swiss categories built in.