What are retirement assets?
The retirement assets in your pension fund are built from the annual contributions you and your employer save, any voluntary buy-ins, and the interest credited on them.
📄 Where to find your retirement assets
You will find your current retirement assets on the pension fund statement (Vorsorgeausweis) that your pension fund sends you, usually once a year.
You can request the statement at any time from your pension fund or your employer.
How the second pillar works
Compulsory BVG cover applies to employees who are already insured under the first pillar and earn at least CHF 22'680 per year. Cover begins when you start working, at the earliest once you turn 17.
Up to the age of 24 the contributions only cover the risks of death and disability. From 25 onwards, savings contributions are credited to your retirement assets as well.
Both employer and employee must contribute. The employee share is deducted directly from your salary.
How your pension is calculated
Second pillar pensions are based on individual savings, which run from age 25 until you retire. The accumulated capital is multiplied by a conversion rate to give an annual pension.
The size of the pension therefore depends on the retirement assets saved over the course of your working life.
📋 Example
Over your working life you have saved a total of CHF 400'000 and the conversion rate is 6.8%.
Your lifelong pension from this fund would be:
CHF 400'000 × 6.8% = CHF 27'200 per year
That is CHF 2'267 per month.
Contribution rates by age
Savings contribution rates rise with age, reflecting the shorter time left until retirement:
| Age | Savings rate |
|---|---|
| 25–34 | 7% |
| 35–44 | 10% |
| 45–54 | 15% |
| 55–65 | 18% |
These are the BVG minimum rates. Many pension funds offer more.
Capital or pension
Depending on the fund and its regulations, part or all of your benefit may be drawn as a lump sum instead of a pension. The pension is derived using the conversion rate, which is set out in your fund's regulations.
Voluntary buy-in (Einkauf)
Most pension funds allow voluntary contributions above the statutory minimum. Buy-ins are tax-deductible and can raise your retirement capital considerably, but a three-year blocking period applies before the capital can be withdrawn as a lump sum.