Swiss pension paid abroad: AVS and LPP, payment calendar, currency and withholding tax

A former cross-border worker retired in Annecy, a former Zurich bank employee settled in the Algarve, an engineer back in Turin after twenty years in Basel: all three receive an AVS pension and a 2nd pillar pension, originally in francs. The two pensions do not follow the same channel. The AVS pension is paid by a federal fund, on a date and in a currency that it sets; the 2nd pillar pension depends on the regulations of your pension fund. Their taxation also differs. This guide describes, on the basis of the legal texts and official pages consulted on 3 November 2026, what happens to each pension between Switzerland and your account.

1. Who pays your pension when you live outside Switzerland?

Your AVS pension is paid by the Swiss Compensation Office (CSC) in Geneva as soon as you live abroad; your 2nd pillar pension continues to be paid by your pension fund, wherever you live.

The AVS pension: the Swiss Compensation Office takes over

The law instructs a federal fund to pay the benefits due to persons abroad (art. 62, para. 2, of the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance, LAVS), and its implementing ordinance specifies that entitled persons living abroad receive their pensions from the Swiss Compensation Office (art. 123 of the AVS Ordinance, RAVS). If you already receive your pension in Switzerland and you leave, notify the cantonal or professional compensation fund that pays it of your departure: that fund forwards your file to the CSC, which takes over the payments, according to the CSC page on payment of a pension outside Switzerland.

If you already live abroad when you retire, the application follows one of two routes, depending on your situation. If you reside in an EU or EFTA State and have contributed there, contact the pension body of your country: it draws up the European forms and sends them to the CSC. If Switzerland is the last country where you contributed, send the application for an old-age pension for persons not resident in Switzerland and form E 207 directly to the CSC, as stated on the CSC page intended for Swiss, EU and EFTA nationals. AVS leaflet 3.01 recommends filing the application three or four months before the reference age, which is 65; for women born from 1961 to 1963, it is raised in steps of three months.

Who keeps their AVS pension outside Switzerland

• Nationals of Switzerland, the EU and EFTA and of countries bound to Switzerland by a social security agreement are always entitled to payment of their pension abroad. The CSC cites in particular the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Türkiye, Tunisia and the Western Balkan States. Israeli nationals must however reside in Israel or in Switzerland.
• Nationals of a country without an agreement lose the right to payment when they leave Switzerland (art. 18, para. 2, LAVS). They can in principle claim reimbursement of their contributions, without interest, from the CSC, and pensions already received are deducted. Since 1 January 2025, this right lapses only on death (art. 7 of the Ordinance on the reimbursement to foreign nationals of contributions paid to the AVS, OR-AVS). The reimbursement is subject to withholding tax.
• What cannot be exported: supplementary benefits and the helplessness allowance stop when you settle abroad.

The 2nd pillar pension: your pension fund continues to pay

Occupational pension benefits are also paid abroad, as AVS leaflet 10.03 points out. No federal fund steps in: your pension fund, or the vested benefits institution if you have left your assets there, remains your point of contact. If you leave before retirement for the EU or EFTA, the mandatory part of your assets in principle stays in Switzerland until retirement (art. 25f of the Vested Benefits Act, LFLP): our guide on the 2nd pillar and its withdrawal covers this case in detail.

2. On what date does the pension arrive, and when does the 13th pension come?

The CSC gives the payment order on the 5th working day of each month, and the pension must be payable by the 20th at the latest; in December 2026, the order of 7 December includes the 13th AVS pension for the first time.

The CSC payment order dates in 2026

Compensation funds give their orders in time for payment to be made by the 20th day of the month (art. 72 RAVS). The CSC publishes its payment dates for AVS/AI pensions: these are the dates on which it orders the transfer, and the money arrives several days later, depending on the country and the payment method (transfer, cheque or postal money order).

If a payment is missing, the CSC only takes a written claim into account from the 20th of the month, the legal deadline. Small pensions have their own rhythm: a pension that does not exceed 20% of the full minimum pension is paid once a year, unless you request a monthly payment in writing (art. 44, para. 2, LAVS). With a minimum pension of 1,260 francs, the threshold is 252 francs a month in 2026.

The 13th AVS pension, paid for the first time in December 2026

Article 34ter LAVS, in force since 1 January 2026, grants a 13th old-age pension to insured persons who are entitled to an old-age pension in the month of December. It corresponds to one twelfth of the old-age pensions received during the year and it is paid in December; if your pension is paid annually, the 13th pension is paid with it. The Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) announces on its page on payment of the 13th pension a first payment at the beginning of December 2026, to some 2.6 million recipients of an old-age pension.

• Outside Switzerland too: the law sets no residence condition, and the CSC, which pays pensioners abroad, writes in its announcement of 29 October 2026 on the first payment that the 13th pension will be paid to all recipients of an old-age pension alive on 1 December of the year.
• The amount: at most 2,520 francs in 2026, i.e. the amount of the maximum monthly pension. Child pensions, supplementary pensions and the supplement for women of the transitional generation are not included in the calculation.
• Who is not entitled to it: recipients of an AI pension or a survivor's pension, which continue to be paid twelve times a year.

On 1 January 2027, AVS and AI pensions will rise by 1.59%, the Federal Council decided on 2 October 2026: the minimum pension rises to 1,280 francs and the maximum pension to 2,560 francs a month.

The 2nd pillar pension: the date set by the regulations

The law only provides that, as a general rule, the pension is paid monthly (art. 38 of the Federal Act on Occupational Old-Age, Survivors' and Invalidity Pension Provision, BVG/LPP). The date comes from the fund's regulations: PUBLICA, the pension fund of the Confederation, always pays within the first ten days of the month (art. 70 of the pension regulations for Confederation employees), and the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution at the beginning of the month (art. 32 of its 2024 general provisions). Your two pensions therefore do not necessarily arrive on the same day.

3. In what currency is the AVS pension paid?

The CSC debits your pension in francs and generally pays you its equivalent value in the currency of the country where your account is held; only a bank or postal account in Switzerland receives francs.

You are free to choose the payment address, in Switzerland or abroad, but the account must be in your name, the page Recevoir ma prestation (Receiving my benefit) points out. The currency depends on the country of that account, not on your nationality. The CSC publishes a list of payment currencies by country, updated on 6 October 2026. Here is an extract:

The CSC uses a convertible currency, the dollar, the euro or the pound, when the local currency is not fully convertible or when its financial partner cannot pay in that currency, its page on routing of payments explains. It also warns that an account not held in the payment currency may lead to a second conversion at your expense, or even to the payment being returned if your bank refuses to convert. A pensioner in Brazil, paid in dollars, therefore has every reason to check what their bank does with a credit in dollars.

Fees

The CSC pays all of its transfer fees: on its page Exchange rates, financial fees, tax deductions, it states that its payments are made free of charge for the beneficiary. The fees your bank charges for processing a credit from abroad remain payable by you, and the CSC cannot guarantee that no fees will be charged if your bank is not directly connected to the international payment system. Since 1 September 2026, pensions bound for Canada have been sent by international transfer, which may give rise to receiving fees.

4. What about the 2nd pillar pension?

No law sets the currency of the LPP pension: the regulations of your fund decide, and the regulations of PUBLICA and of the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution provide for the Swiss franc, including to an account abroad.

Neither the LPP nor the LFLP mentions the payment currency. Two public sets of regulations illustrate two practices you may encounter:

• PUBLICA transfers its benefits to a single account, always in Swiss francs, and the transfer fees to an account abroad may be charged to you (art. 70 of the pension regulations for Confederation employees). To a euro account, it is therefore your bank that converts, at its own rate.
• The Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution pays in principle in francs, and in other currencies that it sets if you request it; it may require an account in Switzerland or in an EU or EFTA State (art. 32 and 60 of its 2024 general provisions).

Before you leave, ask your fund three things in writing: the payment currency, the fees for transfers abroad and the payment date. It may also ask you for a life certificate: PUBLICA, for example, sends a form every year to entitled persons domiciled abroad (art. 74 of its regulations); our guide on the life certificate explains the procedure and what happens in the event of a delay.

5. How much does the exchange cost, and how can you check it?

The cost of the exchange generally does not appear as a fee line: it can be read in the rate applied. The payment reference states the amount in francs, which lets you calculate that rate yourself.

Who converts, and at what rate

When the CSC pays in a foreign currency, the conversion is carried out by its financial partners at the time of payment, at the rate of the day, and the CSC has no influence on that rate. It works with PostFinance, whose rate is based on the Swiss interbank rate, as well as with Bper and Santander, which use their national interbank rate. If the pension arrives in francs, on an account in Switzerland or on a foreign account that accepts francs, it is the institution that then converts it that sets the rate.

Checking it, in three steps

1. On your account statement, note the amount received in euros and the amount in francs shown in the payment reference.
2. Note the reference rate published by the European Central Bank (ECB) for the execution date of the payment (the transaction or value date shown on the statement, or failing that the CSC order date for that month), for example on our CHF-EUR converter.
3. Divide the amount in francs by that rate: the difference from what you received is the cost of the exchange.

At the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, 0.9194 francs for 1 euro, a pension of 2,520 francs is worth 2,740.92 euros. Each percentage point of difference between the rate applied and that rate therefore represents about 27 euros a month, and about 356 euros over a year of thirteen payments, 13th pension included. The ECB reference rate is a mid-market rate, with no margin: a minimal difference is normal, and it is its size that matters.

Letting the CSC convert, or receiving francs

Letting the CSC convert to your euro account is simple: you have nothing to do, but you choose neither the rate nor the timing. If you give the CSC or your pension fund an account in Switzerland in your name, the pension arrives in francs: you then choose when and through whom to convert it, but you need such an account, and the conversion also has a cost. The right choice depends on what you pay in francs (a Swiss health insurance premium, for example) and on the difference you measure in step 3. Our guide to calculating an exchange rate explains this measurement in detail. If you reside in Italy, note that the 5% final withholding tax is deducted by the Italian bank that receives the pension (see section 7): before having your AVS or LPP pension paid to an account in Switzerland, have the Agenzia delle Entrate or a tax adviser confirm how it will then be taxed.

6. Does Switzerland levy withholding tax on your pension?

Never on the AVS. On the 2nd pillar pension, the law provides for withholding tax, but the agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal exempt private-law pensions from it; pensions from former public employers are often still taxed in Switzerland.

The AVS pension: no Swiss tax

The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) states in its documentation Imposition à la source (Withholding tax, as at 1 January 2025) that, because there is no legal basis for it in the Federal Act on Direct Federal Tax (DBG/LIFD) or in the Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes (LHID), AVS pensions paid to a beneficiary resident abroad are never taxable in Switzerland, at either federal or cantonal level, regardless of whether a double taxation agreement exists. The AVS pension therefore arrives in full; only your country of residence can tax it.

The 2nd pillar pension: what the law says

The Federal Act on Direct Federal Tax (LIFD) makes subject to withholding tax the pensions paid to a person domiciled abroad by a public-law fund (art. 95) or by a private-law pension institution, including pillar 3a (art. 96). The federal share is 1% of the gross amount. The cantons add their share, under the law of the canton where the fund has its seat (art. 107 LIFD). Total rates vary from one canton to another:

• Geneva: 10% of gross benefits, cantonal, communal and federal taxes included, according to its calculation rules;
• Zurich: 7% in total, according to directive ZStB No. 99.1, valid in 2026 and 2027.

No withholding tax is levied on an annual pension of less than 1,000 francs, the FTA notice attached to its circular letter of 22 January 2026 specifies.

What double taxation agreements change

The tax is only levied if the agreement with your country of residence does not reserve taxation to that country (art. 18 of the Federal Department of Finance Ordinance on Withholding Tax, OIS). Every year, the FTA publishes an overview, country by country, of the pensions to be paid with or without withholding. As at 1 January 2026:

• Private-law pensions (2nd pillar and 3a): no withholding for a resident of France, Germany, Italy, Spain or Portugal. The fund must have written confirmation of your domicile abroad and check it periodically, through a life certificate or a certificate of domicile. Without this document, it must withhold the tax.
• Pensions from a former public employer (Confederation, canton, municipality and their funds): the article of the agreements on government service generally reserves them to Switzerland when you have Swiss nationality. This is the case with France (art. 21), Italy and Spain (art. 19). With Germany, these pensions are taxable in Switzerland whatever your nationality (art. 19); if you were a cross-border worker, Germany has priority and the Swiss withholding is limited to 4.5% of the gross amount, provided you give the fund the certificate of residence before the first payment (2023 protocol, para. 9). With Portugal, they are taxable only in Portugal if you reside there and hold Portuguese nationality (art. 19). Your country of residence takes them into account to avoid double taxation.

If tax was withheld when the agreement excluded it, you can claim a refund from the tax administration of the canton where the fund has its seat, using the joint form for requesting a refund of withholding tax on pension benefits, published for example by the canton of Vaud. The tax administration of your country of residence certifies on it that you are a resident within the meaning of the agreement; residents of France and Italy must also prove that they are effectively taxed in their country. The simplest course remains to send the certificate of domicile to the fund before the first payment.

Pension capital withdrawn from abroad follows a different rule: it is always taxed at source, and the refund must be claimed within three years of the payment (art. 19 OIS). Our guide on the taxation of 2nd pillar capital gives the scales.

7. Who taxes the pension in your country of residence?

When Switzerland levies nothing, it is your country of residence that taxes your pensions, under its own law: the agreements with France (art. 20), Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal (art. 18) in principle reserve the private-law LPP pension to the State of residence. These agreements do not name the AVS, but the question does not arise on the Swiss side, since Switzerland has no legal basis for taxing it.

• France: the AVS pension not taxed in Switzerland is treated as a private-sector pension, explains the page Retraités de Suisse of the French tax administration. The AVS and a private LPP pension are declared on form 2047, then in boxes 1AM and 1BM of the income tax return. A Swiss public pension taxed in Switzerland is declared in boxes 1AL and 1BL and gives entitlement to a tax credit (box 8TK). Paragraph 2 of article 20 of the France-Switzerland agreement explains why a Swiss refund requires proof that France has actually taxed the pension.
• Germany: the Federal Ministry of Finance classifies the AVS pension among the pensions taxed under § 22 of the Income Tax Act (EStG), in a circular of 27 July 2016; the taxable portion depends on the year in which the pension starts (83.5% in 2025, 84% in 2026, 84.5% in 2027). A private-law 2nd pillar pension is taxable only in Germany (art. 18 of the Germany-Switzerland agreement); the rule for former cross-border workers described in section 6 concerns only pensions from former public employers.
• Italy: since 1992, AVS and AI benefits paid in Italy have been subject to a 5% tax deducted by the Italian bank, which discharges income tax for that benefit, the CSC points out; Italian law (art. 76 of Law No. 413 of 1991) covers pensions built up partly from contributions taxed at source in Switzerland. The Agenzia delle Entrate confirmed in its resolution 3/E of 27 January 2020 that the withholding also applies to 2nd pillar benefits that pass through an Italian intermediary, and that it exempts them from being declared. The same condition applies to the 2nd pillar. According to this resolution, the withholding does not apply to an LPP pension credited outside Italy, since there is no Italian intermediary; the 2025 consolidated act on payments and collection (Legislative Decree No. 33/2025, art. 37) provides, for sums received without an Italian intermediary, for a substitute tax at the same rate. Have the Agenzia delle Entrate confirm the rule that applies to your pension.
• Spain: the Spanish tax administration, in its information sheet on Switzerland, confirms that Swiss private pensions are taxed only in Spain. A Swiss public pension of a Swiss national is taxed in Switzerland, and Spain takes it into account for the rate applied to your other income.
• Portugal: the non-habitual resident regime was repealed by Law No. 82/2023, but it continues to apply to people already registered, until the end of their period. A pensioner who settles there today can no longer apply for non-habitual resident status.

For a pensioner settled in Portugal or Spain, our guide Swiss pensions and expatriation also covers health insurance and withdrawal of the capital.

8. How do you change account without interrupting payments?

For the AVS pension, a change of account can only be made in writing, with the signed CSC form and a copy of your identity document; send it before closing the old account.

The CSC does not make any change of payment address by telephone, its page Changer d'adresse de paiement de la rente (Changing the pension payment address) specifies. You must send it the form requesting payment of AVS/AI benefits to a personal bank or postal account, completed, dated and signed, via the online contact form, by e-mail or by post, with a copy of your identity card. For an account in Italy, the CSC has a separate form.

• The data requested: your AVS number, the IBAN, the BIC code (8 or 11 characters) and, depending on the country, your national identification number: social security number in France, social insurance number in Germany, codice fiscale in Italy, DNI or NIE in Spain, número fiscal in Portugal.
• Outside Europe: in the United States, Canada and Australia, the CSC asks for a voided cheque and the national bank code (routing number or ABA, branch transit number, BSB).
• The account holder: the account must be in your name; for a pension for a minor child, it may be in the name of the child's legal representative.

If you move to another country, the payment currency may change with the country of the account. For the 2nd pillar, each fund has its own procedure: ask for it and make the change before closing the old account. In both cases, keep the old account open until a first payment has arrived in the new one. The annual proof-of-life check also follows your address: the CSC asks for the form to be returned within 90 days.

9. Key points to remember

Your AVS pension and your 2nd pillar pension follow two different channels. The AVS goes through the Swiss Compensation Office, with a published calendar, a currency set by the country of your account, the 13th pension in December and no Swiss tax. The 2nd pillar pension depends on the regulations of your fund: its date, its currency and its fees must be asked of the fund, and the withholding tax falls away if you have given the fund, in time, the certificate of your domicile in a country whose agreement excludes it.

Three checks apply throughout retirement: the currency of the account, which must be that of the payment to avoid a second conversion; the certificate of domicile, to be given to the pension fund before the first payment; the rate applied, to be compared once a year with the reference rate, using the amount in francs shown in the payment reference.

10. Frequently Asked Questions