Private Pension

We begin by looking at your entire pension situation to get a complete picture. After assessing your coverage from both the 1st and 2nd pillars, we identify any areas that might need attention. Following that, we provide personalized recommendations and compare various solutions and providers to help you address these gaps.

You can voluntarily contribute to a third pillar pension plan if you want to supplement the 1st and 2nd pillar and secure additional funds for your retirement.

To sustain your accustomed standard of living after retirement, it’s recommended to have approximately 80% of your last gross salary accessible to you. The term “pension gap” is used when the monthly retirement payout falls below this threshold.

It is advisable to start as early as possible. Ensuring an adequate private pension is nowadays crucial to avoid shortfalls in your pension provision. While increasing life expectancy opens up exciting possibilities in our later years, it also places considerable strain on state and occupational pension schemes. As a result, it is increasingly important for individuals to take a more active role in planning for their retirement.

Both plans are ways to supplement the 1st and 2nd pillar and to save for retirement privately and individually. While the pillar 3a is a restricted private pension plan, pillar 3b is not subject to state regulations. Thus, a wide range of investment instruments can be used for flexible retirement planning.

The circumstances under which you can access the restricted pillar 3a savings are:

• Five years before reaching statutory pension age
• If you become self-employed
• If you emigrate permanently
• If you buy a house to live in yourself
• To repay an existing mortgage
• To pay into a pension fund

Both banks and insurance companies offer a range of pillar 3a products, but have no differences regarding tax relief, maximum amount or withdrawal options. However, only insurance providers offer risk covers for lost earnings and death. Hence, it can be advisable to divide your contributions between a banking and insurance solution.

In addition to registering with a Swiss health insurance provider within three months of your arrival in Switzerland and obtaining liability and household insurance, it is crucial to initiate early pension planning. Addressing gaps resulting from reduced contribution years is essential to avoid substantial reductions in state pension benefits, particularly for retirement, disability, and survivor’s pensions.

In Switzerland, Pillar 1 of the pension system, which includes federal old-age and survivors’ insurance, disability insurance, loss of earnings compensation, and family allowances, is mandatory, but you need to register yourself. Contact the cantonal compensation office based on your company’s location for registration.

While theoretically, as a business owner, you have some flexibility in choosing additional provisions, certain recommendations apply. Pillars 2 and/or 3 are highly recommended for retirement planning and protection against long-term incapacity to work. Daily benefits insurance and accident insurance, although optional, are considered essential in Switzerland due to the substantial financial risk associated with accidents or extended illness preventing work.