Hi Mustachians,
I’ve recently landed my first job after studying. Before that, I have been paying minimal mandatory 1st pillar cotisation since 2019 as a student.
Since it is possible to “re-buy” up to the last 5 years of cotisation, is it financially worth it to re-buy my 2018 year or should I let it slip? (I was below the limit for mandatory cotisation at that moment)
Thanks in advance for your input !
In order to answer this question : what was your age in 2018?
And which mandatory limit are you speaking about ? I only know an age limit : you have to contribute from the year of your 21th birthday.
Sorry, I’m maybe missing some terminology.
I was 20 in 2018, just below the age limit. (I started to pay in 2019)
By “mandatory limit”, I was referring to “age limit”
If I understand your question correctly:
I don‘t think so. It‘s important that you contribute at least the minimal amount starting in the calendar year after your 20thiest birthday (ab 1. Januar nach dem 20. Geburtstag).
There is no financial advantage of buying into the earlier years.
People who contributed at younger ages might use those years to fill gap years should they ever arise later. But if you don‘t have gaps, there is no advantage. Just ensure you don‘t have gaps from the calendar year after your 20thies birthday until you retire.
I recommend ordering an AHV-Kontoauszug every 4 years or so to double-check that there are no gaps. This should be free. Check which the SVA of your canton.
You did understand and answer my question perfectly, thank you!
Interesting !
So, if I paid 1st pillar contributions in the years when I turned 18, 19 and 20 (from summer jobs), and I stop working at the age of 62 after 41 years of « regular contributions based on continuous salaries from 21 to 62 », then I don’t need to pay the contribution as « person without money-earning activity » for the years aged 63-65, and I still get the maximum pension based on 44 years of contributions.
Could you please clarify under which conditions this might be possible ?
Interesting question. I don’t know much more than what is explained on the following page. Reading that, I don’t see a problem. But this should be researched in more detail. If you have contributed early and have zero income before your retirement, it’s certainly worth studying all the conditions in detail.
For the original question: I doubt that it is actually possible to buy back those 3 years (like you can buy buck other gap years). But I did not find a reliable answer within a few minutes of googling.
https://www.ahv-iv.ch/en/Social-insurances/Glossary/term/jugendjahre
You have to contribute unti you reach 65 years old, even if you have contributed before 21yo.
These years from 16 to 20 yo are called in french “année de jeunesse”. They can be used for filling gaps (for example if you leave Switzerland 3 years). If not, there are “lost”.
https://www.ahv-iv.ch/fr/Assurances-sociales/Glossaire/term/jugendjahre
It’s not my decision, but all in all considering that a potential reward is like 45 years away, I would pass.
So I have looked at this more closely. I didn’t find any option to pay OASI (de: AHV) anything else than what you owe them. There only is voluntary OASI for people leaving Switzerland. As a student you paid your contribution, so those count as contribution years. The 5 years back thing is only for paying missed contributions. Did you find different information?
I also wanted to know if putting money into OASI was profitable in any way. It has become a wiki post.
It is not possible to close gaps for contributions not paid before age 20. You only pay contributions before age 20 (January 1 after your 20th birthday) if you are working, and the contributions do not count towards your old-age pension. They can only be used towards closing later gaps.
Gaps in your OASI pension benefits generally only occur when either you or an employer do not correctly pay contributions. Contribution years before age 20 do not count as a gap, unless you or your employer failed to pay the required contributions. In any case, contributions paid for that period would not count towards your old age pension.
So the answer to your question is: No, it is not worth it (nor possible) to pay OASI benefits in arrears for the period before you reached the age at which your contributions began to count towards your OASI pension. Even if you had gaps for that period (due to a sketchy employer not passing on contributions, for example), it would hardly be worth it to close those, as it would make no difference for your old-age pension.