Switzerland built up its social insurance system over more than a century, piece by piece, always in response to a concrete need. The starting point was military insurance. The federal act on the insurance of military personnel against illness and accident was passed in 1901 and came into force a year later. That was long before the AHV (1948), occupational pensions under the BVG (1985) or compulsory health insurance (1996) became reality in their present form. In 2026, military insurance therefore celebrates its 125th anniversary. Its task was as clear then as it is today: to protect people who suffer harm to their health while serving the country. At a time when an injured soldier could quickly lose his livelihood, this was real progress.
It is worth keeping this in mind. The dense web of the AHV, occupational pensions and private provision that we now take almost for granted has grown over generations. Each of these insurances had a trigger, and military insurance stood at the beginning of this long line. So anyone considering which social insurance came first, and now turns 125, arrives at military insurance. Not the AHV, not the BVG, not health insurance, but military insurance. A fine piece of Swiss pension history.
