Loans in retirement

Under Swiss law, being retired does not rule you out of a loan. The Consumer Credit Act (Konsumkreditgesetz, KKG) sets no upper age. Its only rule on age is for borrowers under 18 (KKG Art. 13), and its ordinance adds none. What counts is the credit check, the same for everyone: you must be able to repay without using the part of your income that can’t be seized in debt collection, and the lender must assume you repay within 36 months (KKG Art. 28). If your income is a pension, the Act does not spell out how a lender counts it. Each lender can set its own age rules, so ask before you apply. If you want to borrow because your pension does not cover your living costs, first check whether you can claim supplementary benefits, and talk to Pro Senectute or a debt advice service.

What the law says about age

• One rule, for minors only. You are of age at 18 (ZGB Art. 14). If you are under 18, a consumer credit contract needs the written consent of your legal representative (KKG Art. 13). The Act has no other rule on age.
• No upper age. Neither the Act nor its ordinance (VKKG) sets a maximum age, a maximum age at the end of the term, or a rule on pensions as income.
• The Act covers credits from CHF 500 to CHF 80’000 (KKG Art. 7).

So age alone is not a legal limit. A lender can still decide what it accepts. Ask each lender whether it has an upper age, and whether it looks at your age when the loan would end.

The credit check with a pension

Before the contract, the lender must check that you can afford the credit (KKG Art. 27a). The aim, in the words of the Act, is to avoid over-indebtedness (KKG Art. 22). The test is the one every borrower faces (KKG Art. 28):

• You must be able to repay without using the part of your income that can’t be seized in debt collection, your Existenzminimum (minimum subsistence level). The lender works it out with the guidelines of your canton of residence.
• It must count the rent you actually owe, your taxes according to the withholding tax table, and the credits recorded at the IKO, the information office for consumer credit.
• It must assume the credit is repaid within 36 months, even if your contract runs longer.

Documents. The lender may ask for an extract from the debt collection register and a salary statement. If you are not employed, it may ask for other documents that show your income instead (KKG Art. 31), such as the statements of your pensions.

How each pension stands in debt collection

The test in the Act points to the Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (Schuldbetreibungs- und Konkursgesetz, SchKG), the law on debt collection (KKG Art. 28; SchKG Art. 93). That law treats pensions in different ways:

The Act does not say how a lender should count a pension that can’t be seized when it works out what you can afford. Ask each lender how it counts your AHV pension, your pension fund pension and any other income.

Your income in retirement

• The AHV pension. With a full contribution record, the old-age pension is between CHF 1’260 and CHF 2’520 a month, depending on your average annual income (ahv-iv.ch, leaflet 3.01, position as of 1 January 2026).
• The 13th AHV pension. From 2026, everyone entitled to an AHV old-age pension in December receives a 13th pension with the December payment. It is one twelfth of the old-age pension paid during that year. Survivors’ and disability pensions are still paid 12 times a year (leaflet 3.01). In a monthly budget, it is a payment once a year, not a monthly one.
• The gap. Budgetberatung Schweiz, the umbrella organisation of budget advice services, writes that the first and second pillars together cover on average only 50 to 70 % of the income you had before retirement.

If you are close to retirement

The reference age for the AHV pension is 65 for men. For women it rises in steps and reaches 65 for those born in 1964, in 2028 (leaflet 3.01). If a loan would run past your retirement, plan the payment against the income you will have then, not against your salary today.

Budgetberatung Schweiz recommends a budget for this: it shows how you live now and what will change when you retire. It also suggests asking your AHV compensation office for an advance calculation of your pension as retirement gets closer. See making a budget, then try amounts and terms in the loan calculator until the payment fits your future income with room to spare.

What happens to a loan if you die

• Your heirs inherit your debts. Heirs acquire the estate as a whole, and the debts of the person who died become their personal debts (ZGB Art. 560).
• Heirs can refuse the inheritance. They have three months, counted for legal heirs from the day they learn of the death (ZGB Art. 566 and 567). If the person was officially found to be insolvent at death, or plainly was, the inheritance is presumed refused (ZGB Art. 566).
• Payment protection insurance. Some lenders offer insurance that pays the instalments in case of illness, disability, unemployment or death. Caritas debt advice explains that such insurance is in general optional and that its cover is in general limited in time, in amount or by other conditions. If a lender makes it a condition of the loan, its cost counts in the effective annual rate (KKG Art. 34). Read its terms before you rely on it.

Talk to the people who would inherit from you before you sign, so a loan does not come as a surprise to them.

When a loan is not the answer

If you are thinking of a loan because your pension does not cover your everyday costs, a loan adds a monthly payment to a budget that is already short. Look at these first:

• Supplementary benefits (EL). Pro Senectute explains that if your AHV and pension fund pensions don’t cover your living costs, you are probably entitled to supplementary benefits, which secure your minimum subsistence level together with the AHV or IV. They can also pay health costs such as the deductible, and dental treatment. You apply to your cantonal EL office, usually the cantonal compensation office, and you are entitled only if your assets stay below a threshold.
• Pro Senectute. Its social counselling for older people and their relatives covers money, legal questions, housing and health, in over 100 offices across Switzerland, and Pro Senectute says it is free. It also helps with the EL application. Infoline 058 591 15 15, or the Pro Senectute organisation in your canton.
• Debt advice. If bills are already hard to pay, call the free hotline of the debt advice services on 0800 708 708, Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 13:00, or find the office for your region on schulden.ch. Our guide debt help in Switzerland explains the options.

From its experience, Caritas debt advice says a credit should only be taken out after careful thought, and never to bridge a financial shortfall.

Be wary of anyone who offers a loan to a retiree «without a credit check», or asks for a fee before you receive any money. Every lender that lends as a business must check your creditworthiness first (KKG Art. 27a). See spotting loan scams.

Before you apply

1. Write down your income as it is now, and as it will be if the loan runs past your retirement: AHV pension, pension fund pension, any other regular income.
2. List your fixed costs: rent, health insurance, taxes, and any loan, leasing or card you are paying off.
3. Order your records. Your IKO and ZEK extracts are free, and you can order your debt collection extract. See ZEK and IKO explained and ordering a debt collection extract.
4. Ask the lender four questions: Does it have an upper age, or a maximum age at the end of the term? How does it count your AHV pension and your pension fund pension? Which documents does it want? What happens to the loan if you die?

For every other requirement, see loan requirements. If you also work for yourself, read loans for the self-employed.

Loans in retirement at Swizeo

In step 4 of the application, you choose «Retired» as your type of work. We ask because different income types are checked differently. A person on our credit team decides on every application.

Our terms are the same for every loan we grant:

• An interest rate of 3 % a year, fixed for the whole term and the same for every loan. The effective annual rate is about 3.04 %.
• CHF 1’000 to CHF 1’000’000, over 6 to 84 months.
• You can pay back early at any time, in full or in part.
• No payment protection insurance.

Next step

Check our requirements, with the reason for each one, on the personal loan page before you apply. If one of them rules you out, better to know now.