blue News analyzes AHV figures Married pensioners lose thousands of francs - and the big problems are yet to come

The Federal Social Insurance Office published the latest statistics on AHV and IV on Tuesday. The figures reveal more than just rising pension levels - they show where the money is really going, who is paying, who is benefiting and where the system is coming under pressure.

The new figures on AHV and IV show a Swiss social security system under increasing pressure. Although the AHV continues to generate billions in surpluses, the reserves are dwindling faster than before.

At the same time, new disability pensions are rising sharply - particularly due to mental illness among young adults. blue News puts the figures into perspective and explains what the report really says.

It sounds good at first: the AHV will have earned more than it spent in 2025. Income of CHF 55.2 billion exceeded expenditure of CHF 53.3 billion by CHF 1.8 billion. Including investment income and interest income from the IV loan, the overall result was CHF 4.4 billion - the fifth positive year in a row.

However, a comparison with the previous year shows that things are getting tighter. In 2024, the AHV still generated an operating result of CHF 5.6 billion. The decline of 1.2 billion is partly due to lower investment income - and that's before the 13th AHV pension, which will be paid out for the first time from 2026, even comes into play.

The so-called equalization fund - the AHV's savings account, so to speak - stands at CHF 60.4 billion at the end of 2025. This corresponds to 113 percent of an annual expenditure. A level of at least 100 percent is considered healthy. The AHV is therefore currently still above this level. However, the Federal Council is already issuing a warning: with the 13th AHV pension, the contribution deficit threatens to rise to CHF 4.2 billion by 2035.

Where does the money come from? Around 71% comes from salary contributions from employees and employers (39.3 billion), just under 20% is contributed by the federal government (10.8 billion) and 8.6% comes from the VAT percentage that was introduced in 2020 for the benefit of the AHV (4.7 billion). On the expenditure side, 99.2 percent flows directly into cash benefits - i.e. pensions.

Around 998,000 of the total of 2.91 million AHV pensions - i.e. one in three - went to people living abroad in December 2025. This is a figure that regularly makes the headlines. But the reality behind it is more complicated.

Of the total pension sum of around CHF 51.8 billion, only 15 percent - i.e. CHF 7.9 billion - went abroad. People living abroad therefore receive a significantly lower pension on average. The reason: many of these people have only worked in Switzerland for a few years and are therefore only entitled to a partial pension.

Most pensions abroad go to neighboring countries and southern Europe: 83 percent of the 817,000 old-age pensions abroad go to Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Portugal. Outside Europe, 13,800 people in the USA and 10,800 people in Canada receive a Swiss AHV pension.

The difference in the amounts is enormous: a person with a Swiss passport and resident in Switzerland receives an average of CHF 2021 per month. A foreign national living abroad receives an average of just CHF 582 - less than a third. This is because foreign nationals have often only worked in Switzerland for a short time: Only 7 percent of them have reached the full contribution period of 44 years. The figure for Swiss nationals is 82 percent.

Anyone who claims that foreigners are living at the expense of the AHV is wrong - at least according to the latest statistical data. In 2023 (the most recent year with available contribution data), foreign nationals paid in around 35% of all OASI contributions - but only received 18% of the benefits.

This can also be explained by the contribution years: Those who only work in Switzerland on a temporary basis pay salary percentages, but are often entitled to little or no pension when they leave - or only a very small partial pension. These people are therefore net contributors to the system.

The FSIO report states that the proportion of benefits received by foreign nationals increased slightly between 2013 and 2023. This is no surprise: those who have worked in Switzerland for decades and are now reaching retirement age have built up corresponding entitlements. This is therefore a delayed but deserved benefit.

Important for journalistic classification: these figures relate to all AHV benefits - i.e. not just pensions, but also helplessness allowances and reimbursements. However, the basic statement remains the same: The foreign population is a clear financial plus for the AHV.

In Switzerland, if both spouses receive an OASI pension, the amount is limited to a maximum of 150% of the maximum pension - i.e. CHF 3780 per month. This is called capping. And it affects almost everyone.

Of the approximately 434,000 married couples in Switzerland where both partners receive an old-age pension, 384,000 couples - i.e. 88% - receive a capped pension. More than half of all pension couples (56%) receive exactly CHF 3780 - no more, no less, regardless of how long they have worked.

In concrete terms, this means that a married couple who have both worked full-time for 44 years will receive exactly the same amount as a couple who have worked for slightly less time. If you pay in more, at a certain point you get nothing more. The principle of "more in, more out" only works for married couples up to the ceiling.

This topic is highly topical politically: a popular initiative to abolish the pension cap for married couples is currently in preparation. The statistics now show how large the group affected actually is - namely almost all married pensioner households.

On average, single women and men receive almost the same amount from the AHV: single women receive CHF 2010, single men CHF 1978. However, when it comes to marital status "married", the amounts diverge widely - to the disadvantage of women.

Married women whose husband is not yet drawing a pension receive an average of CHF 1630 per month. Married men in the same scenario receive CHF 2087 - a difference of almost CHF 500 per month, or around CHF 6000 per year. The reason for this is the employment history: women generally have lower incomes subject to AHV contributions because they often work part-time or have career breaks due to childcare.

Income splitting is only applied when both spouses draw a pension: The income from the contribution years during the marriage is split equally. This partially compensates for the differences in pensions. Until then, however, women literally pay the price for their family work.

Overall, the statistics show that women make up 53 percent of old-age pension recipients and receive 54 percent of the pension amount paid out. The slightly higher proportion is explained by the so-called widow(er)'s supplement of 20 percent, which women can claim more frequently due to their longer life expectancy.

While the AHV is still above water, there is a worrying trend in disability insurance. The so-called new pension rate - i.e. the proportion of the population receiving an IV pension for the first time - amounted to 4.08 per thousand in 2025. This is the highest figure since the decline following the record high of 5.94 per thousand in 2003.

In absolute figures: in 2025, there were 25,200 new IV pension recipients in Switzerland and abroad - a significant increase compared to previous years. And the waiting list is growing: 70,700 new applications were received by the IV offices in 2025, around one and a half times as many as in 2014 (47,300).

The total number of IV pensions is also rising: In December 2025, the IV paid out a total of 260,600 disability pensions - in 2024, the figure was 254,200. The proportion of IV pension recipients in the total insured population was 4.17%. This is still far below the peak of 5.28% (2005), but the trend is clearly pointing upwards: the rate has been rising again since 2022.

The IV closed the year 2025 with a negative operating result of CHF 0.21 billion. Although this is manageable, the IV's debt to the AHV has remained unchanged for years at CHF 10.28 billion - and there is currently no repayment in sight because the IV simply does not have enough liquid funds.

This is probably the most significant figure in the entire IV statistics: almost every second new IV pension is awarded due to a mental illness. Specifically, the proportion is 49.41 percent of all new pensions. In 2000, it was still 35.61 percent.

At the same time, physical illnesses - previously one of the main reasons for receiving IV benefits - have declined significantly. Pensions for bone and musculoskeletal disorders used to account for 25 percent of all new pensions, whereas today the figure is 13.92 percent. Medicine has made great progress, but the psyche seems to be a growing social problem.

Particularly alarming: mental illness is also by far the most common reason for the 53% of all current IV pensions (not just new pensions). In relation to all IV pensions due to illness, the proportion of mental illnesses is as high as 64%.

The Federal Council has therefore already reacted: On February 11, 2026, it adopted the guidelines for a new "integration reform" of IV. This is intended to provide more targeted support for young adults with mental illness - because this is precisely where the problem lies: the new pension rate for 18 to 24-year-olds is already 5.08 per thousand - higher than the national average. Anyone who receives an IV pension at this age will potentially receive it for decades.