Pillar 3a that saves you nothing
If you are taxed at source (Quellensteuer) and never file a tax return, paying into a 3a usually gets you no deduction — which is most of the point. The fix is a deadline you have probably never heard of.
For people who moved to Switzerland
The Swiss pension system, explained by something that knows what you are missing.
Three pillars, a permit that changes your tax treatment, German words on every letter, and rules that work differently because you arrived mid-career. Ask about your situation and get a straight answer.
Start a conversationNo account. Nothing stored on a server.
- 44
- contribution years for a full AHV pension
- CHF 7'258
- 2026 Pillar 3a maximum with a pension fund
- 20%
- buy-in cap in your first five years here
Four expensive things expats find out late
A buy-in your fund will not let you deduct
Your pension certificate shows a large "buy-in potential". If you never belonged to a Swiss pension fund before moving here, you can only use 20% of your insured salary a year for the first five years.
AHV years you did not know were missing
A full first-pillar pension needs 44 contribution years from age 21. Arrive at 35 and you are permanently about a third short — and you can generally only buy back the last five years.
Pension money that cannot follow you home
Leave for an EU/EFTA country and the mandatory part of your second pillar stays locked in Switzerland until around 60. Leave for anywhere else and you can usually take it all. Worth knowing before you buy in.
How it works
- 01
Tell it what brought you here
A question, a letter you did not understand, or just "where do I start".
- 02
It asks only what it needs
Permit, canton, whether you are taxed at source, whether you were ever in a Swiss pension fund. A conversation, not a form.
- 03
You leave with something written down
A summary of your position, the steps worth taking, and the exact questions to put to an adviser. Yours to download.
What this is, and what it is not
It will
- Explain how a rule works and what it means for a situation like yours
- Show you the trade-offs and name the deadlines
- Cite the year of every statutory figure, because they change
- Say plainly when it does not know
It will not
- Recommend a product, provider, fund or insurance policy
- Give personal investment advice — it is not a licensed adviser
- Replace a tax professional for anything you have to file
- Guess a number to sound confident