Nearly 2.7 million people to receive first 13th Swiss pension payment in December

Nearly 2.7 million people will receive an extra AHV payment in December, marking the first time Switzerland’s state old-age pension is paid 13 times in a year. The old-age compensation funds expect to distribute CHF 9.28 billion in total, alongside recipients’ regular December pensions.

Representatives of the Federal Social Insurance Office and the 74 compensation funds announced the preparations in Bern on Tuesday, November 3. The funds are responsible for ensuring eligible people receive the correct amount at the right time. The payment will reach recipients by the end of 2026, including 830,000 people living abroad.

The estimated average is CHF 1,580, but individual payments will differ because the calculation is tied to each person’s pension payments during the year. The funds will issue the money automatically. Recipients do not need to apply, though the way the payment appears may vary according to the fund handling it.

The extra payment is calculated from each recipient’s pension record for 2026. It corresponds to one-twelfth of all old-age pension payments that person received during the year. That means the 13th payment will not simply match the recipient’s usual monthly pension amount.

The calculation reflects the payments actually made across the year, rather than a single uniform amount for everyone. The funds estimate an average of CHF 1,580 per recipient, but individual totals will vary. Across the full recipient group, the compensation funds expect to pay CHF 9.28 billion.

This formula is the key detail for people checking their December payment: the added amount is a year-based calculation, and the result depends on the pension payments credited to each person in 2026. The funds have prepared to calculate and distribute the correct sum. The payout will arrive automatically, either as a higher combined pension payment or as a separate transfer alongside the regular December pension.

Recipients do not need to submit an application to receive the 13th pension. The compensation funds will pay it automatically in December. Depending on the fund, the money may arrive as a higher pension payment or in two separate transfers: one for the regular December pension and one for the additional payment.

That difference in payment format does not change the calculation. Each recipient’s extra amount is based on one-twelfth of their old-age pension payments in 2026. The funds have made preparations to pay eligible recipients the correct amount on time, according to the Federal Social Insurance Office and the compensation funds.

The operation spans 74 old-age compensation funds and covers nearly 2.7 million people, including recipients who live outside Switzerland. In all, 830,000 recipients abroad are expected to receive the payment. The funds’ task is to apply the calculation to individual pension records and deliver the money through their usual payment arrangements.

The first payment will arrive before voters decide how to finance the long-term cost of the 13th pension. On November 29, Swiss voters are due to consider a proposal to raise value-added tax by 0.4 percentage points to fund the additional monthly payment. The vote follows approval of the pension increase.

The December payout puts the new arrangement into effect for nearly 2.7 million recipients, while the financing proposal is a separate decision on the ballot. The reported figures include a projected total payment of CHF 9.28 billion this December and an average individual payment of CHF 1,580.

For recipients, the immediate step is straightforward: the compensation fund will make the payment automatically, with the amount based on the person’s 2026 old-age pension payments. The November vote will address the proposed VAT funding measure. Together, the December distribution and the ballot place the pension increase’s first payment and its financing debate on Switzerland’s near-term agenda.