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Swiss pension provision, the three pillars

AHV, pension fund, pillar 3: together they target around 60 % of your final salary. The rest is yours to build — and the earlier you know how much is missing, the cheaper it is.

The gaps you do not see coming

Part-time work is the most common and least visible gap: the coordination deduction weighs proportionally more on a small salary, so a 50 % role does not contribute half of a full-time one but considerably less. Multiple jobs have the same effect when each stays below the entry threshold.

Then come missing AHV years: every uncontributed year from age 21 cuts the pension by roughly one forty-fourth. A free individual account statement from your compensation office reveals them within days — and some can still be bought back within five years.

In what order to act

A pension fund buy-in offers the widest tax deduction, but locks the money until retirement and only makes sense if the fund is sound. Pillar 3a comes next: a lower ceiling, but early withdrawal is possible for buying a home, leaving Switzerland, or becoming self-employed.

Pillar 3b is justified only once 3a is full, or when the money must stay available. A different order is rarely defensible, and never without looking at your marginal tax rate.

What drives the price

  • Your AHV contribution years, and the gaps left by studies or time abroad.
  • Your pension fund’s conversion rate, and its financial health.
  • The coordinated salary, which excludes part of your income from the BVG.
  • The annual deductible 3a ceiling, different depending on pension fund membership.

We show no tariffs on this page. Unlike LAMal premiums, no public register publishes prices for this branch: they depend on your profile and are calculated case by case. Quoting a figure here would be an invention.

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