I lived in Switzerland in the 1980's-90's as a housewife and was told by my Japanese husband's company that I would be eligible for a Swiss pension, since my husband had worked in CH for 10+ years. As a Japanese national, he was able to cash out his share, but was told by the AHV something about me being American and getting Social Security that I would not be eligible to withdraw my funds until I turned 64 or so. It was very unclear and probably some language translation issues. I have tried in the intervening years to get answers from the Swiss authorities without success.

Has anyone encountered this issue and/or can you advise me to whom I should direct my questions?

If you didn't work here, and your husband cashed out his pension when he left, I can't see any reason why you would get money from the Swiss government. Am I missing something?

I don't know. I was told by the company's lawyer that there was a separate pension for the employee and one for the spouse and that the rules were different since we were from different countries.

There are separate pensions for each spouse. He was probably paying the minimum for you, which really isn't very much.

You should start by speaking to the AVS (AHV) office:
http://www.ahv-iv.info/?lang=fr
https://www.ch.ch/en/ahv/

You may have to dig out your AVS (AHV) number.

Where does one find their AVS number if they didn't work? Or do you mean the number from the husband?

At the attached link, there is a form in English called "602.101 Claim for refund of OASI contributions" (form is second to last from bottom)

http://www.ahv-iv.info/andere/00140/...x.html?lang=de

Near the bottom of this form it states:

"The undersigned acknowledges the following:
...
once your contributions are reimbursed, your spouse and/or your children will no longer be entitled to any survivor's benefits."

Of course, the form your husband signed many years ago may not have been the same. And possibly your situation is also different.

The AHV (OASI) website that miniMia posted might also be useful. It is in English as well:

https://www.ch.ch/en/ahv/

A non-working spouse does not have to pay separately into AHV if the working spouse is paying in at least twice the minimum - a portion of the working spouse's payments are credited to the non-working spouse's account, separate from the worker's account. So yes, most non-working spouses will be entitled to their own AHV payments.

However, be aware that if the non-working spouse did not take active steps to register this - even if issued an AHV number - he/she might be SOL.

That's what happened to me.

Naive as I was when we first moved here, I just accepted the statement that I didn't need to do anything myself. Wrong. Found out a while ago that none of OH's payments - 15 years worth - were ever credited to me.

I would advise all non-working spouses to check their AHV records...

(As an American with over 40 quarters vested in Soc Sec, however, the loss isn't much. IF one is in receipt of both US and foreign state pensions the (US) Windfall Elimination Program reduces the SS payment, depending on the amount of foreign pension received. So losing out on the tiny amount I'd have earned from Switzerland simply means that my US SS remains intact.)

TBH, when I first arrived I was working FT so got an AVS number. I don't know if I never worked if one would have been assigned to me.

But you should heed MC's advice and look into all that for your benefits.

My AHV number is on my health insurance card. I think it starts with 756.

Thanks, all, for your advice. I will try to follow up again with AHV and see if I can get any information. (When I phoned a few years ago they were rude and dismissive so I put aside.)

Oh. They will still be rude and dismissive. But keep trying.
And since living in South America, my philosophy is "Keep asking until you get the answer you want."

Good luck!

Survivor's benefits are NOT normal pension, but rather widow(or) pension, and are paid out starting at the death of the spouse, and not starting at retirement.

Also, Switzerland has a bilateral agreement with the US regarding AHV/Social Security such that the years in one country count towards the other, i.e. the 10 Swiss years should add to your US social security years, but you should not get a separate payment from CH.

Tom

"Also, Switzerland has a bilateral agreement with the US regarding AHV/Social Security such that the years in one country count towards the other, i.e. the 10 Swiss years should add to your US social security years, but you should not get a separate payment from CH."

Thank you, Tom! That makes a lot of sense in context of what I was told in 1996 (3rd-hand and 3x translated from German-Japanese-English). Where can I find details of that bilateral agreement, do you know? I have received US Social Security statements detailing my contributions every few years and none of them have any reference to my time in CH. With a NRA husband, as a housewife, I was eligible for $0 from the US system.

Karenlinda, the ACA website has a good primer on Soc Sec issues for Americans who have lived/worked abroad:
http://americansabroad.org/issues/social-security/

And here is the SSA page on totalization agreements:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/intern...greements.html

I am an American who lived in Switzerland for a few years and now am about to move back. I contacted the bank where my AHV contributions are held and she told me the following:

According to the social security agreement between Switzerland and the U.S. you won’t be able to claim the AHV contributions paid during your stay in Switzerland. At your mandatory retirement age , you can apply for a monthly retirement pay with the Swiss Social Security Administration from any country outside of Switzerland .

Please find as follows a link with some further information : http://www.zas.admin.ch/org/00723/index.html?lang=en

Very helpful! Thank you! Karen

P.S. I should read the FAQ and find out how to just give the short thank you like everyone else. Apologies.

You need 10 posts before you get the option. Then there will be buttons that say "thanks" "groan" next to the "quote" button that you should see already.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.