You can reduce your taxable income by making additional payments into the pension fund. But be careful - not all purchases make sense. Clarifications are necessary before making a purchase and especially if you change jobs.

Generally, you and your employer pay monthly contributions to the second pillar, the so-called occupational pension plan. From the age of 25, a significant portion of this is allocated to your personal retirement savings. As your salary increases or pension fund solutions change, gaps in coverage may arise, which you can fill with additional purchases. In this regard, you should pay particular attention to the following points:

• These funds will not be available to you again until you retire, become self-employed or if you purchase a home of your own.
• If you leave Switzerland definitively, you can in principle withdraw the pension funds, but this does not apply to the mandatory in the event you leave the country for an EU/EFTA member state.
• The pension fund usually calculates the maximum purchase amount. Whereas any 3rd pillar funds must also be taken into account for the calculations. Do not pay in any contributions without prior calculations from the pension fund insurance.
• What is the coverage ratio of the pension fund insurance? It may not make sense to buy into a pension fund insurance with insufficient cover. Ask for the current coverage ratio.
• Clarify what happens to the purchase contributions in the event of death. If possible, the regulations should provide for these to be paid out separately (restitution).
• If you are insured under different pension plans, e.g. one compulsory and one non-compulsory, then you should clarify which plan it makes sense to pay into.
• After the last purchase, you must wait at least three years before making capital withdrawals, otherwise the saved taxes will be claimed retroactively. There are certain exceptions, such as the purchase into the divorce gap.

If you change jobs and your pension assets are thus also transferred to a new institution, there is a risk that important information will be lost. Is the difference between compulsory and non-compulsory still possible? Does restitution still apply to your earlier purchases in the new pension fund insurance. Has the amount of the divorce gap been correctly tracked? You can also partly determine which funds should be transferred to which pension plans.

André Hegglin will be happy to advise you on this and help you plan the cash flows wisely.

+41 41 226 30 56
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