Swiss Abroad face threat to 13th pension payment

The right to a 13th pension payment for pensioners abroad is being questioned. Keystone

Swiss citizens living abroad could be excluded from the new 13th state pension payment under a proposal from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.

A year ahead of the federal elections, the People’s Party is proposing new restrictions on the Swiss diaspora. In a motion, parliamentarian Didier Calame has called for “the 13th pension [payment] to be restricted to beneficiaries who are resident in Switzerland”.

Calame told Swissinfo: “Pensioners abroad are entitled to the OASI [Swiss old-age and survivors’ pension, also known as AHV/AVS], but not to a 13th pension payment. They often deliberately emigrate for economic reasons to countries where the cost of living is lower. So they are saving money.” Calame goes on to say that he has already received reactions from expatriates in Portugal, Thailand and the Dominican Republic. “These are all countries with a low cost of living. You need less money there. That proves I am right.”

Pensions abroad targeted before

Calame came up with the idea for his motion during parliamentary debates on how to fund the 13th pension payment. This is expected to cost the Swiss government CHF4.2 billion ($5.22 billion) this year alone, and then around CHF5 billion ($6.22 billion) annually thereafter. Funding for this has not yet been secured; so far, parliament has only been able to agree on incomplete or temporary funding arrangements.

“Because the financing of the OASI poses a growing challenge, it is essential to concentrate the available funds on those who live in our country and are actually suffering from high prices,” Calame writes in his motion.

During the initiative campaign on the introduction of the 13th pension payment, the People’s Party criticised retirees living abroad. “Swiss citizens living abroad are the most selfish people there are,” declared journalist Markus Somm at the time, acting as an advisor to the People’s Party leadership. Some parliamentarians also spoke of “luxury pensioners abroad”.

Swiss Abroad react with anger

Within the community of the Swiss Abroad, the current proposal – first reported by the news portal cash.ch – has caused outrage. Josef Schnyder, who represents the Swiss Abroad in Thailand, comments: “The People’s Party is making it unmistakably clear where it stands on the Swiss Abroad: paying OASI contributions – yes. Equal rights in old age – no.” Matthias Anderegg, a Swiss Abroad in Thailand, asks: “Are Swiss people worth less as soon as they live abroad? Anyone who has paid into the OASI all their life should be able to spend their retirement wherever they wish, without being disadvantaged.”

Daniel Hunziker, director of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (ASO), replied succinctly when asked by Swissinfo: “The ASO rejects cuts to benefits for the Swiss Abroad.”

Will the People’s Party lose the support of the Swiss Abroad with this move, a year before the elections?

“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about the 2027 elections when I drafted this motion – that’s not how I work. But it could, of course, have a slight impact on this electorate,” said Calame.

Pensions abroad are low

No distinction is made regarding nationality when it comes to pensions paid abroad. They are not only paid to the Swiss Abroad, but two-thirds go to former foreign workers who have returned to their home countries from Switzerland after retirement. “As far as I’m concerned, they are all emigrants. It has nothing to do with the nationality of the pension recipients. The idea behind the 13th OASI was to do something about the rising cost of living in Switzerland,” says Calame.

Both the Swiss Abroad and foreign nationals have seen their numbers rise in recent years, though not at a disproportionately higher rate than the domestic population. The total OASI budget has grown at the same rate.

However, the People’s Party’s focus on pensions paid abroad has so far hardly ever considered the total amount of pensions paid out. During the 2024 initiative campaign, the party already pointed out that almost one in three OASI recipients lives abroad. This is correct, as this chart shows.

However, it is also worth noting that by no means one in three pension francs goes abroad. In fact, it accounts for only 14% of all pension expenditure by the Swiss state.

This is because pensions paid abroad are, on average, much lower. In 2025, the average monthly pension in Switzerland was CHF1,970 ($2,450), while abroad it was CHF702 ($873). Anyone receiving an average pension from abroad would therefore struggle to make ends meet in Switzerland without supplementary benefits. A pension paid abroad costs Switzerland around a third of what a domestic pension does.

Based on the figures for 2025, the potential savings from not paying the 13th OASI pension abroad would amount to around 14% of the new expenditure incurred.

Why the government opposes the pension cut

The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, recommends rejecting Calame’s motion, citing the law – in particular the agreement on the free movement of persons with the European Union (EU) and Switzerland’s social security agreements with other countries. The principle of equal treatment applies in these contexts. “Nationals of the countries concerned have the same rights as Swiss nationals,” writes the Federal Council. “There is no scope for treating beneficiaries living abroad differently from insured persons resident in Switzerland.” Furthermore, the text of the Constitution guarantees all recipients a 13th old-age pension.

In a statement, the international branch of Switzerland’s Social Democratic Party points out that the cost of living abroad is not lower everywhere compared to Switzerland. The Swiss Abroad also often have to take out private health insurance, which can be significantly more expensive, particularly as they get older. “If such private insurance is not available, they have to cover a considerable proportion of their healthcare costs themselves,” writes Co-President Christophe Margot. “This is another reason why they are reliant on the 13th OASI pension.”

The maximum annual state pension in Switzerland for an individual currently stands at CHF32,760 ($40,729), including the 13th payment. The amount depends on the duration and level of pension contributions made during a working life.

Edited by Pauline Turuban/sb