Swiss Military Service: Financial Questions and Answers

May 13, 2026 - Daniel Dreier

How are you insured while doing your military service in Switzerland? Does the army pay you a salary? Find answers to these and other questions in this moneyland.ch guide.

Whether it's an initial bootcamp at cadet school or your annual military call-up, fulfilling your obligatory Swiss military service comes with numerous financial implications. In this guide, moneyland.ch answers some of the most important financial questions about Swiss military service.

How will military service affect my income?

The earnings compensation insurance (EO) scheme pays out insurance benefits that help compensate you for time spent in the Swiss army, civil service, or civil guard – or instructing an eligible course in marksmanship. How much you receive depends on whether or not you earn an income before starting your military service. You receive additional compensation if you have dependent children.

In order to receive the insurance benefits, you have to complete the EO form that you receive during your conscription. The completed form must be given to your employer (if you are employed) or directly to your compensation office (if you are self-employed).

If you have a job and your employment contract remains in place during your military service, you may receive your EO benefits through your employer. Otherwise your benefits are generally paid out to you directly by the responsible compensation office.

Supplemental benefits

Parents or guardians of dependent children can claim an additional benefit towards the actual costs of paid childcare, up to a maximum of 75 francs per day.

If you own your own business, you can also claim a supplemental benefit towards your company’s running expenses, up to a maximum of 75 francs per day.

Will the Swiss army pay me a salary?

In addition to the benefits you receive from the earnings compensation office, non-professional soldiers also receive a small salary for each day of military service. The salary starts at six francs per day for a new recruit, and increases along with your rank up to the highest possible salary of 43.50 francs per day for the Swiss equivalent of a Lieutenant General.

Do I receive child benefits while in the army?

Yes. You receive a child benefit of 22 francs per day for each dependent child aged 18 or younger. You also receive this money for children between the ages of 19 and 25 who are completing their initial education.

It is important to note that these child benefits are paid by the EO insurance. You do not receive these in addition to standard Swiss child benefits. Instead, the child benefits from the EO replace the standard child benefits.

Do I have to pay taxes on the money I get?

The benefits you get from the earnings compensation insurance (EO) are fully taxable, and must be declared as taxable income when filling out your tax declarations.

The salary you receive from the army for obligatory service, on the other hand, does not count towards your taxable income.

Do I have to pay for mandatory health and accident insurance while in the army?

No. At the start of your military service, you are enrolled in the military insurance (MV) scheme. This is a very broad insurance. Among other things, it covers:

Medical expenses resulting from an illness or accident that occurs while in the army.
The cost of home-based care.
The cost of search and rescue operations, ambulance transportation, and medically-necessary travel.
Medical aids and other costs related to social and workplace reintegration after an illness or accident.
Loss of income compensation equal to 80 percent of the portion of your annual income that falls below 163,722 francs. You receive this compensation if you become disabled due to an accident or illness incurred during your military service. The insurance benefits are paid out until you are able to work again.
A disability pension for permanent invalidity caused by illness or accidents while in the army.
Life insurance that pays out survivor’s pensions to your eligible children, spouse, parents, and former spouse in the event of your death. The insurance also pays out a one-time settlement according to liability law, and compensation towards the cost of the funeral.

The military insurance provides similar insurance to what you would normally receive from your mandatory health insurance, employer-based accident insurance, and your occupational pension fund.

Avoid double insurance

If you will spend more than 60 consecutive days in military service – as would be the case during your initial training, for example – you can ask your health insurance provider to put your mandatory health insurance on hold. As long as you do so, you will not be charged premiums for mandatory health insurance during your military service.

This process is not automatic. It is important that you send your health insurance provider the request along with the required documents.

If you are employed and your employment contract remains in place during your military service, the accident insurance you receive from your employer is put on hold until you leave the army.

Can I put my supplementary health insurance on hold?

Doing military service does not automatically give you the right to put your voluntary, supplemental outpatient and inpatient health insurance policies on hold. However, insurance providers may give you the option of putting on hold any supplementary health insurance policies that overlap with benefits you get from military insurance.

A good first step is to contact your insurance provider and ask about whether any of your supplemental health insurance policies can also be put on hold.

Can I claim compensation if I get sick or have an accident while in the army?

If you have an accident or become ill while in the army, and this leaves you temporarily disabled, you can claim loss-of-income benefits. The benefit is equal to 80 percent of your insured income if you are completely unable to work. If you are deemed to be only partially incapacitated, the benefit will be adjusted accordingly.

Be prepared to wait for the money

Things are more complicated if the accident or illness is related to a preexisting condition that you already had before your military service. In that case, it must be determined whether responsibility falls with the military insurance, or with your health insurance or possible occupational accident insurance provider. Depending on the circumstances, it can take many months for your insurance claims to be processed.

If the military insurance can prove that the illness or accident did not occur or drastically worsen during your military service, it may not pay out any loss-of-income benefits at all.

It is very important that you have a substantial emergency fund that you can live on in the case of a long delay or a refusal to pay insurance benefits.

What happens if I become disabled while in the army?

If an illness contracted or an accident incurred during military service results in your becoming permanently disabled, you can claim a disability pension from military insurance (MV). You receive this pension for as long as you remain disabled. When you reach retirement age, the disability pension is replaced by an old-age pension from the military insurance that is equal to half of the previous disability pension.

A disability rating of more than 40 percent entitles you to disability pensions from both military insurance (MV) and social disability insurance (DI). If you have an occupational pension fund and meet the criteria for a disability pension, your pension fund will make up the difference between your MV and DI pensions and 90 percent of your insured income.

Read the guide to Swiss disability pensions to learn more about how you are insured by the DI, employer-based accident insurance, and occupational pension funds.

Does my life insurance cover me while I am in the army?

If you have term life insurance, you will remain covered during your normal Swiss military service in peacetime.

Special rules apply in wartime: While you do not lose your insurance, life insurance providers can charge additional premiums or reduce benefits to cover additional losses caused by the war.

Can I lose my job during military service?

No. If you are employed, your employer cannot fire you during your obligatory Swiss military service. The only exception to this rule is if you are employed on a probationary basis.

If your military service lasts longer than 11 days, you are also protected from being let go during the four weeks prior to your military service, during the service itself, and for the four weeks following your service.

What happens to my debts during military service?

Debt collection suits against you must be put on hold during your military service. That means you should not receive any demands for repayment from a Swiss debt collection office until after your military service is over.

Military Service Exemption Tax

Swiss men who are unable or unwilling to perform their military service after being called up are required to pay a special tax. This Military Service Exemption Tax is equal to three percent of your taxable income, as per federal income tax. The minimum exemption tax is 400 francs per year.

You have to pay this tax for 11 years. The tax is reduced by half if you completed more than half of your obligatory military service.

Important: Swiss military service is only obligatory for men. Women who volunteer for military service, but do not complete it, do not have to pay the Military Service Exemption Tax.

More on this topic:
Financial tips for apprentices in Switzerland
Having a baby in Switzerland: Your financial questions answered
Marriage in Switzerland: Financial pros and cons