When health gives way and a person can no longer work, or only part-time, Switzerland has a dedicated system for it: disability insurance, widely known by its German abbreviation IV. For Ukrainians who have arrived in recent years, the questions are very practical. Am I covered at all, when does a right to a pension arise, and what happens to the benefits if I return to Ukraine? The answers are less obvious than they first appear, because much depends on status, residence and contribution years — exactly the details missing from most general overviews, so it is worth working through them in order.

What the IV is and why it exists

The IV is a mandatory social insurance to which, as a rule, everyone who lives in Switzerland or pursues gainful activity here is subject. Its purpose is to secure the means a person needs to live should invalidity occur. The system's inner logic, however, is built not around the pension but around a return to work: first the IV does everything it can to help a person keep their job or find a new one. That includes counselling, retraining, job placement, vocational guidance, medical measures and, where needed, aids such as a wheelchair or a hearing aid. A pension is granted only once measures of vocational and social reintegration have proven impossible or have failed to produce a sufficient result.

This approach has tangible consequences. While someone takes part in reintegration measures and is not yet drawing a pension, a daily allowance is paid based on their last salary, and travel costs and childcare during the measures are covered too. The IV is therefore better understood not as "an office that pays out money for disability," but as a system that first invests in keeping people active and only then turns to financial compensation.

Does the IV apply to Ukrainians with Status S

This is probably the most important question for our readers, and it calls for precision. People holding protection status S are subject to the AHV/IV system, provided they meet the insurance and contribution requirements. This does not mean that status S on its own automatically opens access to every benefit: entitlement to a specific benefit or pension follows not from the status alone, but from meeting all the conditions the law sets for that particular benefit. The general principle is that anyone living or working in Switzerland is compulsorily insured under the IV. Nationals of EU and EFTA states have the same rights as Swiss citizens. For nationals of third countries, including Ukraine, the decisive difference shows up not during the stay but at the moment of departure — more on that below.

The waiting year and the three contribution years — two different conditions

Here the precision of terms matters as much as the facts. Two conditions that in reality concern quite different things are easily confused.

The first is the so-called waiting year. Before the IV will even examine a pension claim, a person must have been on average at least 40 percent unfit for work over the course of a year, and that condition must be regarded as lasting. The second condition is the minimum contribution period. For an ordinary IV pension, as a general rule, at least three years of AHV/IV contributions are required.

These are not the same thing. The first describes the duration and degree of incapacity; the second, how long a person has paid in. For Ukrainians who arrived in 2022 the distinction carries real weight: many are crossing the three-year mark only now. Someone who becomes invalid before reaching the minimum contribution period may receive no ordinary pension. For certain situations — such as invalidity existing since birth or youth — extraordinary pensions exist, but only for people resident in Switzerland.

How much the pension is and what it depends on

Since 2022 Switzerland calculates pensions under a stepless system. Below a 40 percent degree of invalidity there is no entitlement; from 70 percent a full pension is granted. Between 50 and 69 percent the pension share equals the degree of invalidity, while the 40-to-49 percent range follows a graduated scale. People already 55 on 1 January 2022 were not transferred to the new system.

The amounts depend on the contribution period and average income. Under the parameters in force for 2026, a full pension can range from CHF 1,260 to CHF 2,520 per month; the maximum requires a complete contribution period and an average annual income from CHF 90,720. Gaps in the contribution record lead to a partial pension on the corresponding scale. On top of one's own pension comes a pension for each child under 18 (under 25 if in education), worth 40 percent of the main pension. One detail reliably causes confusion: the 13th pension introduced in 2026 applies only to the AHV old-age pensions, while IV pensions and children's pensions are still paid twelve times a year.

Alongside these come the helplessness allowance for people who depend on others' help in daily life, the assistance contribution for those who live at home and pay a support person, and supplementary benefits when all other resources fail to cover basic needs. These three share an important feature: they are available only to residents of Switzerland.

Why status and residence decide everything

This is where the central peculiarity for Ukrainians emerges. Switzerland has concluded social security agreements with around four dozen states, but not with Ukraine. In practice this means two things. First, the helplessness allowance, the assistance contribution and supplementary benefits are tied to residence in the country. Second, and most importantly, for nationals of states that have no social security agreement with Switzerland — Ukraine currently among them — the export of IV pensions is, depending on the category of benefit and the person's legal status, heavily restricted or impossible. There are exceptions, notably for recognised refugees and stateless persons, and the situation may change as new treaties are concluded; the definitive answer in any case rests with the competent authority. A Swiss invalidity decision also does not, on its own, create an automatic entitlement to Ukrainian social benefits; the relevant determination usually has to be obtained back home.

It helps to distinguish between different kinds of contributions. Someone who has worked and paid into old-age insurance may, under certain conditions, claim a refund of part of the AHV contributions paid, in so far as the law permits and no pension entitlement has arisen. That, however, concerns AHV contributions, not the export of IV benefits. Because of this distinction, the choice to stay or return carries very concrete financial weight for anyone drawing or expecting an IV pension.

A system that rewards acting in time

Taken together, the IV rewards two things: presence and timeliness. Registering is recommended as early as possible — as soon as it becomes apparent that health problems may lead to a longer-lasting incapacity for work — because delay can result in reduced benefits. The system favours those who are insured, resident and able to show contribution years. For Ukrainians the practical guidance is simple: establish how your status affects you, add up your contribution years, and treat the IV first and foremost as a tool for reintegration rather than merely a source of pension income.

At the same time, every case is unique. The degree of invalidity, the required contribution period, and whether benefits are retained on leaving are ultimately decided by the cantonal IV office at your place of residence and the official sources, not a general article. The most useful step, therefore, is not to put off registering with your cantonal IV office, where your specific situation will be examined.

Sources

• AHV/IV Information Centre, Leaflet 4.04 "Disability pensions of the IV" — https://www.ahv-iv.ch/p/4.04.e
• AHV/IV Information Centre, Leaflet 3.01 "Benefits of the OASI (AHV)" — https://www.ahv-iv.ch/p/3.01.e
• Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) — social security agreements
• Pro Infirmis — disability pensions of the IV
• UNHCR Switzerland / State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) — social insurance for people with status S
• "Ukraine is Home" — information for Ukrainian nationals in Switzerland (social security, status S)