Something else to consider is whether you are married or not. You SS payments in the US are only for you and do not include you spouse. Should you decide to contribute to the Freiwillige AHV you have to register both, you and your spouse, separately.

Regards,
Jackie
On May 19, 2011, at 12:00 PM, swiss-list- wrote:


Message: 1
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 15:20:14 -0700
From: Barbara Snarr <>
To: "Lauber, Jan" <>
Cc: "" , Monica
Bigler <>
Subject: Re: [Swiss-list] Question regarding Freiwillige AHV
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed; delsp=yes

I had decided not to contribute either when I moved to California in
2002, planning to stay long term. Next year, I will have enough
credits to be eligible for US SS finally.

I determined it was way too expensive for what I would eventually get
when I reach retirement age; I was 32 at the time.

So, to follow up on Jan's comment: it also depends on how old you are
and how many years you'll have to continue to pay in in order to get
the full payout.

Barbara

Sent from my iPhone

On May 16, 2011, at 9:52 AM, "Lauber, Jan" <>
wrote:

> Hi Monica,
>
> I think it all depends on how long you intend to stay here in the US.
> Yes, it is costly to pay both SS and AHV, but if it is just for a
> couple
> of
> years it might be worth not incurring the gap in your AHV payments.
> And
> you
> won't get any significant payment out of SS after just a couple of
> years
> contribution anyway.
>
> At the time I decided against contributing to the AHV. Now that I have
> been
> in the US (San Francisco) for well over 10 years (with no end in
> sight)
> I think it
> was the right thing to do. So there must be some cost/benefit
> calculation versus
> time which others may be able to comment on.
>
> Good luck
> Jan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: swiss-list-
> [mailto:swiss-list-] On Behalf Of Monica Bigler
> Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2011 12:45 PM
> To: swiss-
> Subject: [Swiss-list] Question regarding Freiwillige AHV
>
> Hi, I am currently trying to decide whether or not to participate in
> the
> "Freiwillige AHV" program. Does anyone have some experience,
> professional
> contacts, and/ or resources as to how to best make this decision? For
> example, when I spoke with a representative of Freiwillige AHV in
> Montreal a
> few ago, she advised me AGAINST participating, given the high cost
> involved
> and the fact that, once I would reach retirement age, I would not be
> able to
> obtain full Swiss AHV anyways given there was bilateral agreements
> between
> CH and the USA regarding social security payments. Where can I find
> out
> more? I am currently still employed in Switzerland but planning on
> transitioning to the US full-time.
>
> Thanks for your input.
>
> Monica B. Rosier
> San Francisco, CA
>
>
> +++++++ KILLMIME removed the following attachment(s):
> +++++++++ part2: ASCII English text, with very long lines
>
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