Benefits and conditions
Anyone who would like to claim family allowances or has questions about their specific situation must contact the competent body: For salaried employees, the competent body is their employer or the family allowances compensation fund (CAF) where their employer is registered. For the self-employed, the competent body is the CAF where they are registered. For individuals who have both self-employed and employee status, the competent body is their employer or the CAF where the employer is registered. For individuals who are not in paid work, the competent body is usually the cantonal CAF in their canton of residence.
Types and amounts
There are four types of family allowance:
- Child allowance: This is paid from the month of the child's birth until the end of the month they turn 16. If your child is under 16 but already meets the eligibility requirements for an education allowance, this will be paid instead of the child allowance. The minimum monthly child allowance is CHF 215. However, the cantons may provide for higher allowances.
- Education allowance: This is paid from the beginning of the month when the child's post-compulsory education or training programme begins but no earlier than their 15th birthday. Entitlement finishes at the end of the month when the child completes their education/training programme but no later than their 25th birthday. The minimum monthly education allowance is CHF 268. However, the cantons may provide for higher allowances.
- Childbirth allowance: This is a one-time payment awarded for each child born alive or had a gestational age of at least 23 weeks at the time of delivery. The cantons are free to include this allowance, or not, in their family allowances scheme and set the amount. This allowance is available in the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Uri, Valais and Vaud.
- Adoption allowance: This is a one-time payment for each minor child placed with a family with a view to their adoption. However, there is no entitlement for the adoption of stepchildren, i.e. the children of a spouse or partner, within the meaning of Art. 264c of the Civil Code (CC). The cantons are free to choose to include this allowance, or not, in their family allowances scheme and to set the amount. This allowance is available in the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Uri, Valais and Vaud.
Types and amounts of family allowances_2025 (PDF, 19.12.2024)
Children giving rise to entitlement
Family allowances can be claimed for:
- children related to the claimant;
- children of the claimant's spouse who live most of the time with the claimant, or who had lived with them until the age of majority;
- children living permanently in the claimant's household provided that the child's upkeep and education costs are covered free of charge or in exchange for a small fee;
- the brothers, sisters and grandchildren of the claimant provided that the latter is their primary carer.
Persons entitled to claim
The following may claim family allowances:
- Employees whose earnings on which they pay OASI contributions are at least CHF 630 per month, or CHF 7'560 per year. If the person's earnings fall below this minimum threshold, they are not considered to be in gainful employment. If the person works for multiple employers, their salaries from each employer are added together to arrive at their total earnings. In principle, entitlement to family allowances begins and ends with entitlement to a salary. However, there are some exceptions to this rule (sickness, accident and maternity). See above for more details.
- Self-employed persons who are registered with a family allowances compensation fund and whose income on which they pay OASI contributions is at least CHF 630 per month, or CHF 7'560 per year. If the person's earnings fall below this minimum threshold, they are not considered to be in gainful employment. In principle, entitlement to family allowances begins when the self-employed activity begins and ends when the person ceases to be self-employed. However, there are some exceptions to this rule (sickness, accident and maternity). See above for more details.
- Persons not in gainful employment and on a low income, provided that they live in Switzerland and are not gainfully employed according to OASI criteria. In addition, they must have an annual taxable income of CHF 45'360 or less and are not claiming any OASI/IV supplementary benefits.
If an employee or self-employed person is unable to work due to sickness or an accident for example, family allowances are still paid to them during the month when their incapacity to work began and then for the subsequent three months.
Furthermore, claimants remain entitled to family allowances even if they are on paid leave, such as maternity leave, second parent leave, adoption leavve or youth leave for charitable activities. Entitlement remains for the legally permitted duration of their leave.
Unemployment benefit claimants (daily allowance) are not entitled to family allowances. However, they can claim a supplementary benefit from the unemployment insurance scheme that is equal to the amount of the child or education allowance which is paid in the canton where they live. This entitlement is a subordinate right. In other words, the unemployment insurance scheme will not pay this supplementary benefit if a person in gainful employment is entitled to claim family allowances for the same child and for the same period.
To claim this supplementary benefit, the person must apply to the unemployment insurance fund in the canton where they live.
Mothers who are registered unemployed and are claiming a maternity allowance are entitled to family allowances during the 14-week paid maternity leave entitlement period. The additional eligibility requirements mentioned above (minimum qualifying income and non-receipt of supplementary benefits) do not apply.
Anyone who would like to claim family allowances or has questions about their specific situation must contact the competent body:
- For salaried employees, the competent body is their employer or the family allowances compensation fund (CAF) where their employer is registered.
- For the self-employed, the competent body is the CAF where they are registered.
- For individuals who have both self-employed and employee status, the competent body is their employer or the CAF where the employer is registered.
- For individuals who are not in paid work, the competent body is usually the cantonal CAF in their canton of residence.
Order of entitlement
Only one allowance of the same type may be paid for each child (concurring claims are prohibited). If multiple individuals are simultaneously entitled to family allowances, only one allowance will be issued per child. As duplicate claims are not permitted, the following legal order of entitlement applies:
- Principle of gainful employment: the entitlement of the person in gainful employment takes precedence;
- Principle of parental authority: if both persons are gainfully employed, the entitlement of the person with parental authority takes precedence;
- Principle of custody: if parental authority is shared or if none of the eligible parties has parental authority, the entitlement of the person with whom the child primarily lives takes precedence;
- Principle of domicile: if both parents live in the same household with the child, the entitlement of the person who is gainfully employed in the child's canton of residence takes precedence;
- Principle of income: if both parents are gainfully employed either in or outside the child's canton of residence, the entitlement of the person earning the higher income from dependent employment and on which they pay OASI contributions takes precedence. If neither parent earns income from dependent employment, the entitlement of the person earning the higher income from self-employment takes precedence.
If entitlement cannot be determined on the basis of the first criterion, the second criterion is applied, then the third, and so on.
Intercantonal differential allowance
If two individuals in gainful employment are entitled to family allowances for the same child, the allowances are paid to the person whose entitlement takes precedence. However, if the other person works in a different canton with higher family allowances, they can request the payment of the difference
Payment to a third party
Family allowances must be used for the child's upkeep. The parent claiming the allowance must pass it on to the parent who lives with the child. If the claimant fails to do so, the child's primary carer or the child themselves, if they are over 18, can apply to have the family allowances paid directly to them. This application is called ‘payment to a third party.
A request must be submitted in writing to the CAF which pays out the allowances in question. The applicant must present convincing documentary evidence to support their claim. They must prove that the parent claiming the allowance is not transferring the allowance to them or transferring only a share of the allowance. The CAF will thoroughly examine the particulars of the case and issue a decision. The parties to the case can appeal this decision.
The Family Allowances Register (RAFam) shows if an allowance is being paid for a child and by whom.
Link to the page "Family allowances register"
Litigation
If a family allowances application is refused, the applicant may demand that the CAF issue a formal decision. An appeal may be lodged within 30 days with the CAF that issued the decision. The appeal decision can itself be appealed before the Cantonal Insurance Court within 30 days.