Save for retirement and invest with pillar 3a

Pillar 3 at a glance

Save twice over

Save on taxes every year and provide for your retirement.

Sustainable investing

You’re free to decide whether and how much of your 3a capital you want to invest in sustainable investment funds.

Early withdrawal of your capital

Fulfill your dream of owning your own home or running your own business.

More than “just” a savings account

Invest in sustainable Vitainvest Investment Funds for potential higher returns – with Switzerland’s leading fund provider.

Freely decide how much of your retirement savings you’d like to invest.
Invest with just one fund in more than 1,000 investment positions – start with just CHF 50.
Benefit from integrated foreign currency hedging in all pension funds.

Discover all funds

Open your pension solution in just a few minutes

How much can you save on taxes?

A woman is happy about the taxes she’s saved thanks to her pillar 3a payments.

The more you pay in annually, the greater your tax savings.

You can pay a set amount into your pillar 3 account each year.
By deducting your deposits from your taxable income, you save on taxes.
The maximum amount in 2024 is CHF 7,056 (for insured persons with a pension fund).

When is the right time to save for your retirement? Right now!

01
Define your risk profile
Answer just a few questions to find out which 3a pension solution suits you best.
02
Discover our recommendations
We propose different pension solutions and you choose the one that suits you and the way you live your life.
03
Open your 3a pension solution
Open the 3a pension solution directly in the Mobile Banking App and choose how much and how often you would like to deposit for your future.

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FAQ

How can I save on taxes by saving for retirement?

Paying into pillar 3a is worthwhile for tax purposes in several respects:

You can deduct the amounts you pay in from your taxable income.
During the accumulation phase, your assets in pillar 3a are tax-exempt.
The interest earnings and capital gains are tax-exempt.

By making voluntary purchases in the pension fund, you reduce your tax burden and gain additional tax advantages:

You can deduct the amounts you pay in from your taxable income.
Your pension fund assets are exempt from the wealth tax.
The interest earnings and capital gains are tax-exempt.

How good is my retirement plan?

To assess your financial situation, compare current expenditures with your expected income.

Do you need more money today than you’ll have after retirement? Then you need to act. You have several options to boost your income in retirement:

Make voluntary pension fund contributions.
Pay the maximum amount into pillar 3a.
Build up additional capital, for example, with a savings account or financial investment.

Why should I open a second retirement savings account?

You can withdraw money from pillar 3a up to five years before reaching AHV retirement age. However, taxes fall due when the savings are disbursed. The taxes increase progressively according to the amount disbursed.

If you have a second or even a third retirement savings account, you can withdraw your money in staggered amounts over several years. This lets you significantly reduce your tax burden.

A rule of thumb: if you’ve saved 50,000 francs in one retirement savings account, you should open a second retirement savings account.

How can I finance a home with retirement savings?

When buying a home, you may also use pension assets from pillar 2 and pillar 3 – provided you’ll be moving in yourself.

The following applies to financing: you need at least 20% of the purchase price as equity. No more than half of this can come from pillar 2.

With regard to both pillars, you have the following options:

Early withdrawal – which means the money will be taken from your retirement assets.
Pledge – your retirement assets only serve as collateral; your pension payments are not reduced.

I want to go abroad. What happens to my retirement savings?

Pillar 1

If you are not employed in Switzerland, you’re no longer covered by mandatory insurance. Accordingly, you also no longer pay any contributions. However, you’ll receive benefits in accordance with the contributions made and the number of years that you contributed. When you retire, or in case of invalidity or death, you’ll receive a reduced pension from AHV/IV.

Pillar 2

If you stop working in Switzerland, you lose the connection to a pension fund. Instead, the money must be transferred to a vested benefits account and will remain there until you take up a job in Switzerland again.

If you leave Switzerland permanently and move to a country outside the EU/EFTA, you can entirely withdraw the pension fund capital or park your money in a vested benefits account.

Pillar 3

If you leave Switzerland permanently, you can withdraw your savings from the restricted pension provision 3a without restriction.

I’ve started my first job. Should I already start saving for retirement?

The benefits from AHV and pension funds are not enough for the lifestyle you are used to. That’s why it’s so important you start making additional savings early.

Not only will payments into pillar 3a save on taxes, but you’ll also have more time to build up your savings. Saving even small amounts pays off.

Sample calculation: if you pay CHF 100 every month into a retirement account, you’ll have saved up roughly CHF 50,000 after 40 years, including interest.