Particulier
AVS in Geneva: what every family must declare
From the moment you arrive in Switzerland, the AVS (AHV) is compulsory. Who contributes, how much, to which fund and within what timeframe: the guide…
Lucas
4 November 2026
7 minutes read
Blog
AVS in Geneva: what every family must declare
From the moment you arrive in Switzerland, the AVS (AHV) is compulsory. Who contributes, how much, to which fund and within what timeframe: the guide…
Particulier
Table of contents
Who is insured and who contributes
From the moment you arrive, the old-age and survivors' insurance (AVS, in German AHV, Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung) applies to you. It is based on the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (LAVS, RS 831.10). Anyone who lives or works in Switzerland is insured under it (art. 1a LAVS).
Three profiles contribute. Employees, from the first franc of salary, and from 1 January following their 17th birthday. Self-employed persons, on their profit. Persons without gainful activity, from 1 January following their 20th birthday.
An example. A family arrives in Geneva in January with a B permit. Mathieu, 38, is an employee: he contributes via his employer. Claire, 36, does not work: she is insured by virtue of her residence and must contribute as a person without gainful activity, except in certain cases (see below). The two children, aged 6 and 9, are insured but do not contribute.
Cross-border commuters contribute to the Swiss AVS if they work in Switzerland, even if they live in France. Students without gainful activity contribute from the age of 20, at a reduced rate.
Under the LAVS, anyone domiciled or engaged in gainful activity in Switzerland is insured under the AVS, with compulsory contributions from the age of 17 for employees and from the age of 20 for persons without gainful activity.
The contribution rate in CHF
Rates are set by law and apply for 2026, to be confirmed on ahv-iv.ch before any final calculation. For an employee, the AVS/AI/APG (old-age and survivors' insurance / disability insurance / loss of earnings allowance) rate is 10.6% of gross salary, split equally: 5.3% for the employer, 5.3% for you. The employer deducts your share directly from your payslip.
Starting assumption: Mathieu earns CHF 8,000 gross per month. His share is 5.3%, i.e. CHF 424 per month, or CHF 5,088 per year. The employer pays the same amount.
For a self-employed person, the rate is capped at 10.0% of income from a certain level. Below that, a sliding scale applies: the lower the income, the lower the rate. Assumption: a self-employed graphic designer who sets up her business and makes CHF 60,000 in annual profit pays about 8.1% according to the official scale. The exact amount appears in the compensation fund's table: ask for it when registering.
For persons without gainful activity, the contribution depends on wealth and pension-type income, not on salary. The annual minimum is CHF 530 (AVS/AI/APG, excluding administration costs). Assumption: Claire, with no income of her own and modest family wealth, pays this minimum of CHF 530 per year, which can be verified with the fund. For non-working persons, the calculation is based on the household's wealth and pension income: a more affluent family contributes more, up to a maximum of CHF 26,500 per year.
Which fund to join and within what timeframe
Each employee is registered by their employer, who applies to a compensation fund. The canton determines the competent cantonal fund. In Geneva, this is the Geneva cantonal compensation fund (CCGC), which can be reached via ge.ch and the OCAS website. Some employers instead come under a professional fund, depending on their sector.
For a self-employed person, registration is your responsibility. Notify the fund as soon as you start your activity, without waiting for the first statement. A delay may result in default interest and contributions being claimed retroactively, within a limit of five years.
For a non-working spouse, register with the fund of the canton of residence. Ideally, do so within the first few months, as the contribution runs from the year of arrival.
If your employer is located outside Geneva, the logic remains the same, but the fund changes. A Zurich employer registers with SVA Zürich (Sozialversicherungsanstalt, the Zurich cantonal fund). A Bernese employer goes through the Ausgleichskasse Bern. These German-language names simply denote the equivalent of the Geneva fund. If you live in Geneva, you contribute as a non-working person, where applicable, to the fund of your canton of residence.
For online procedures (registration, statements), the AHVeasy portal allows some of the formalities to be completed electronically. Check on the official AVS website that your fund is connected to it.
| Criterion | Employee | Self-employed | Person without gainful activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis of calculation | Gross salary (from the first franc) | Profit from the self-employed activity | Wealth and pension-type income |
| Contribution rate | 10.6% of gross salary, of which 5.3% for the employee and 5.3% for the employer | Sliding scale, capped at 10.0% of income | Minimum CHF 530/year, maximum CHF 26'500/year (AVS/AI/APG, excluding administration costs) |
| Worked example | Mathieu, CHF 8'000 gross/month: CHF 424/month, i.e. CHF 5'088/year (employee share) | Graphic designer with CHF 60'000 annual profit: about 8.1% | Claire, no income of her own, modest family wealth: CHF 530/year (except in certain cases, art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS) |
| Who registers | The employer, with a compensation fund (deduction on the payslip) | The self-employed person themselves, from the start of the activity, with the compensation fund | The person themselves, with the fund of the canton of residence |
| Starting age | From 1 January following the 17th birthday | From the start of the gainful activity | From 1 January following the 20th birthday |
Basis of calculation
EmployeeGross salary (from the first franc)
Self-employedProfit from the self-employed activity
Person without gainful activityWealth and pension-type income
Contribution rate
Employee10.6% of gross salary, of which 5.3% for the employee and 5.3% for the employer
Self-employedSliding scale, capped at 10.0% of income
Person without gainful activityMinimum CHF 530/year, maximum CHF 26'500/year (AVS/AI/APG, excluding administration costs)
Worked example
EmployeeMathieu, CHF 8'000 gross/month: CHF 424/month, i.e. CHF 5'088/year (employee share)
Self-employedGraphic designer with CHF 60'000 annual profit: about 8.1%
Person without gainful activityClaire, no income of her own, modest family wealth: CHF 530/year (except in certain cases, art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS)
Who registers
EmployeeThe employer, with a compensation fund (deduction on the payslip)
Self-employedThe self-employed person themselves, from the start of the activity, with the compensation fund
Person without gainful activityThe person themselves, with the fund of the canton of residence
Starting age
EmployeeFrom 1 January following the 17th birthday
Self-employedFrom the start of the gainful activity
Person without gainful activityFrom 1 January following the 20th birthday
Key takeaway
The employee contributes on gross salary (employee share 5.3%), the self-employed person on profit (cap 10.0%) and the non-working person on wealth and pension income, with a minimum of CHF 530 and a maximum of CHF 26'500 per year.
Source: Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (LAVS, RS 831.10), art. 1a and art. 3 para. 3 let. a — fedlex.admin.ch; 2026 rates to be confirmed on ahv-iv.ch
The non-working spouse and the children
A spouse who joins a B permit holder without working must still register with the compensation fund. Their minimum contribution runs from the year of their arrival, not from the date of their first job.
There is, however, some good news. The spouse of a person engaged in gainful activity is deemed to have contributed if that person pays at least twice the minimum contribution (art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS). Assumption: Mathieu, an employee, contributed CHF 5,088 during the year. This sum comfortably exceeds CHF 1,060 (2 × CHF 530). Claire therefore has no personal contribution to pay, and her year counts towards her pension. Register all the same: the fund must record the situation and issue the confirmation.
The same mechanism applies to a stay-at-home spouse in a married couple or registered partnership. If the working spouse does not contribute enough, the non-working spouse must pay the minimum of CHF 530 per year.
For children, there are no contributions before the age of 20. Students who begin an apprenticeship or a first job contribute from the age of 17, like any employee. A student without income contributes from the age of 20, with an annual minimum of CHF 530.
In the case of family reunification, the fund does not need any additional document for the children. However, the parent's B permit and the municipality's certificate of residence are useful for documenting the arrival.
| Indicator | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Contributed by Mathieu over the year | CHF 5'088 | Employee in Geneva, CHF 8'000 gross/month: employee share of 5.3%, i.e. CHF 424 per month |
| Spouse exemption threshold | CHF 1'060 | 2 × the minimum of CHF 530, set by art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS |
| Claire's personal contribution | CHF 0 | Her year nonetheless counts towards her pension; registration with the compensation fund is compulsory |
| Minimum if the working spouse does not contribute enough | CHF 530 / year | Minimum AVS/AI/APG contribution of the non-working spouse, excluding administration costs |
Contributed by Mathieu over the year
ValueCHF 5'088
ContextEmployee in Geneva, CHF 8'000 gross/month: employee share of 5.3%, i.e. CHF 424 per month
Spouse exemption threshold
ValueCHF 1'060
Context2 × the minimum of CHF 530, set by art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS
Claire's personal contribution
ValueCHF 0
ContextHer year nonetheless counts towards her pension; registration with the compensation fund is compulsory
Minimum if the working spouse does not contribute enough
ValueCHF 530 / year
ContextMinimum AVS/AI/APG contribution of the non-working spouse, excluding administration costs
Key takeaway
With CHF 5'088 contributed by Mathieu, Claire pays nothing and her year counts towards her pension, but she must still register with the compensation fund.
Source: Art. 3 para. 3 let. a LAVS (RS 831.10) — fedlex.admin.ch; ahv-iv.ch (2026 rates to be confirmed before any final calculation)
Contribution years and gaps
To receive a full AVS pension, you need 44 years of uninterrupted contributions between the age of 21 and the reference age. The reference age is the age from which you can draw your pension without reduction: 65 for both men and women since the AVS 21 reform, which came into force in 2024 with a transition period for some women.
A missing year reduces the pension by one forty-fourth (about 2.3%). Assumption: you arrive at 35 without having contributed in Switzerland. With no other contributions abroad taken into account, you start with 30 possible years out of 44, i.e. a partial pension calculated at 30/44.
Bilateral social security agreements change the picture. Switzerland has signed such agreements with the EU, EFTA and some thirty other states. Insurance periods completed in these countries are added together to establish entitlement to a pension. Each country then pays its proportional share. A person who has worked 12 years in France and 20 years in Switzerland may receive a Swiss pension calculated pro rata, and a French pension for the remainder.
To fill any gaps, you may make up missed contributions for the last five years only, on application to the fund. Request an individual account statement (CI) from the Geneva fund: it lists your contribution years and lets you spot the gaps in good time.
AVS pension: amounts, splitting and credits
The amounts apply for 2026, to be checked on ahv-iv.ch. The monthly old-age pension ranges from CHF 1,260 (minimum) to CHF 2,520 (maximum) for a single person with 44 full years. For a married couple, the sum of the two pensions is capped at 150% of the maximum, i.e. CHF 3,780 per month.
Splitting is the sharing of income between spouses. During the marriage, each spouse's income, added together and then divided by two, is entered in both individual accounts. It takes place automatically when both spouses retire. In practical terms, a spouse who has worked little receives a higher pension than their own contributions alone would give, because they benefit from the other's income.
Credits for child-raising duties recognise the years spent caring for children under 16. They add notional income to the account and are granted on application to the fund. For 2026, they correspond to three times the annual minimum pension, i.e. CHF 45,360 per year. The credits are shared between spouses during the marriage.
Example. Claire looks after two children for 15 years in Geneva. These years count as notional income of CHF 45,360 per year in her account, which fills part of the gaps linked to her inactivity. Complete the credits application form at the time of retirement, or earlier with the fund. Credits for care duties are added if you look after a relative.
Your compliance checklist
Before arrival: gather your proof of contributions in your country of origin (certificates from foreign funds, career statements). They are used to add together insurance periods if a bilateral agreement exists. File the family reunification application before the move: it takes 3 to 6 months.
First month: check that your employer has registered you with a fund and that your first payslip shows the AVS deduction of 5.3%. For a non-working spouse, register with the cantonal fund with the B permit and the municipality's certificate of residence. A self-employed person registers from the first day of activity. Also consider household insurance and other cover, which do not fall under the AVS but complete your settling-in.
First year: request an individual account statement from the fund to check that your income has been recorded. If your spouse is non-working, confirm in writing that their contribution is covered by that of the working spouse. Notify the fund of the birth or arrival of children in order to prepare future child-raising credits. Keep your statements: a fund error can be corrected within five years.
Practical note: enrolment in the Geneva public school and in a childcare facility is handled in parallel, but does not replace any AVS procedure.
Compliance in 4 steps
Four steps are enough to be in order. One: have the employer confirm the working spouse's registration, or register yourself if you are self-employed. Two: notify the Geneva fund of the non-working spouse, even if their contribution is covered. Three: request an individual account statement after one year. Four: keep foreign certificates in order to add together your years.
Official points of contact: the ahv-iv.ch website (information, fund addresses, leaflets), the Geneva cantonal compensation fund via ge.ch, the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO, bsv.admin.ch) and the text of the LAVS on fedlex.admin.ch. For an employer outside the canton, the cantonal fund concerned, such as SVA Zürich or the Ausgleichskasse Bern, answers questions from its members.
Take the time to carry out these four steps during the first few months. The AVS seems distant when you are moving, but every year declared counts towards the pension of the whole family.
"This article is purely informative and does not constitute legal advice, nor personalised tax or financial advice; as AVS rules may change and vary according to individual circumstances, we recommend that you contact the competent compensation fund or a specialist before making any decision."
FAQ
Not always. If you contribute at least twice the minimum (CHF 1,060 per year), they are deemed to have contributed. They must nevertheless register with the compensation fund from the year of their arrival.
Lucas
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