Planning your retirement in Switzerland: A guide

To ensure that you start your retirement without any worries, you will need to plan and prepare well in advance. We show you which financial considerations and other decisions are necessary for a good start – including a checklist for the time before and after retirement.

Financial planning is an essential part of preparing for retirement. Regardless of whether you want to retire early, take regular retirement, or continue working, you need to plan your retirement provision carefully.

Time of retirement in Switzerland

The timing of retirement from working life varies greatly. Some people leave the world of work early, while others continue to work into their old age. The time at which you choose to retire will affect your financial situation in the long term.

Ordinary retirement in Switzerland

Men reach the ordinary retirement age at 65, women at 64, with the retirement age for women being gradually increased to 65 from 2025. The reason for the increase in the retirement age for women is a referendum held in September 2022.

According to the law, you are entitled to a pension in the first month after your 64th or 65th birthday.

However, you should take action before you reach the statutory retirement age in order to receive your pension. You should bear in mind the following:

• Regular payment of the AHV pension: Register with the relevant compensation office at least three months before your ordinary retirement date.
• Regular payment of the BVG pension: Contact your pension fund in good time, preferably three to four months before you reach the ordinary retirement age. 
• Ordinary withdrawal of 3rd pillar benefits: Here too, contact your private pension fund a few months before you retire and clarify the general conditions for drawing benefits from your 3rd pillar.

Early retirement in Switzerland

Many Swiss people wish to take early retirement. The challenge usually lies in bridging the income gap caused by early retirement.

One option is to draw your OASI pension or pension fund assets early:

• Early withdrawal of your AHV pension: You can draw your entire OASI pension two years before the ordinary retirement age. It is also possible to draw part of the pension – between 20% and 80% – early. The pension that would be paid out after reaching the ordinary retirement age is reduced proportionately for each month of early withdrawal.
• Early withdrawal of your BVG pension: Some pension funds allow for the early withdrawal of the pension from the age of 58. Contact your pension fund to clarify whether and under what conditions early withdrawal is possible.
• Early withdrawal of 3rd pillar benefits: In principle, pillar 3 capital can be withdrawn at the earliest five years before ordinary retirement. Here too, contact your private pension fund a few months before your planned early retirement and clarify the general conditions for drawing benefits.

If you are thinking about taking early retirement, you will find valuable tips in the article “One step closer to early retirement” (in German).

Continuing work after you retire

Whether planned or for financial reasons: If you wish to continue working after reaching retirement age, you can postpone the date of your pension payment and thus have the opportunity to increase your retirement assets.

Even if you do not continue to work, you can postpone the date of payment.

• Later payment of the AHV pension: Payment of the OASI pension can be postponed by a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years. It is also possible to draw part of the pension, or between 20% and 80%.
• Later payment of the BVG pension: The pension fund is usually paid out upon reaching the ordinary retirement age. However, certain pension funds offer the option of deferring payment until the age of 70. Contact your pension fund to clarify whether and under what conditions a deferral is possible.
• Later withdrawal of 3rd pillar benefits: Withdrawal of 3rd pillar capital can be deferred up to a maximum of five years after reaching ordinary retirement age. The only requirement is that you must prove that you are still gainfully employed during this period.

Determining the amount of your OASI pension

The ordinary OASI retirement age is prescribed by law. The OASI Act stipulates a retirement age of 64 for women and 65 for men (the retirement age for women will be gradually adjusted to 65 from 2025).

As a full pension, the this amounts to a minimum of CHF 1,225 and a maximum of CHF 2,450. Married couples receive a maximum of CHF 3,675 (as at 2024).

Insured persons with a full contribution period receive a full pension.

The contribution years between January 1 after the 20th birthday and December 31 before retirement are decisive.

The pension is reduced if not enough years have been paid into the pension scheme. The greater the number of missing contribution years, the lower the maximum partial pension.

You can find an online pension estimate on the website of the OASI/IV information office. There, you can determine the estimated amount of your OASI pension.

OASI contributions after retirement

The obligation to pay OASI contributions does not end automatically upon retirement. Contributions are still due in the following cases:

• In the case of early retirement: If you take early retirement, you remain liable to pay contributions until you reach the ordinary retirement age.
• In the case of continuing work after retirement: If you continue to work after retirement, you must continue to pay OASI contributions. The only difference: At retirement age, there is an allowance of CHF 1,400 per month or CHF 16,800 per year on your income. This means that no OASI contributions are due up to this limit.

Checklist: How to prepare financially for retirement in Switzerland

Until the age of 50

• Review your current investment strategy to ensure that you have made sufficient provisions for retirement and achieve your savings goal. In the article “Assets in Switzerland by age”, you will find the right investment strategy to prepare for retirement.

Age 50–55

• Summarize your assets and debts in an overview: Real estate, mortgages, account balances, securities, pension assets, etc.
• Draw up a budget for the time after retirement: How much income will you have each month and how much money will you need to live on as a retiree? We address this question in our article: “Wealth in old age: How much money you will need in retirement.”
• Do you own residential property with an open mortgage? Check whether you can continue to afford to pay off the mortgage with the income from your retirement provision.
• Do you have any gaps in your retirement provision? If you have worked part-time or taken longer career breaks, you probably have gaps in your retirement provision. Find out how much capital you need to close these gaps.
• Save assets without having to pay high taxes on them. Either with a pillar 3a solution or by making additional payments into your pension fund.
• Here too, the following applies: Adapt your investment strategy to your life situation and benefit from the advice of our experts.

Five years before retirement

• Determine when you want to retire: Would you like to take early retirement, retire at 65, or continue working?
• Clarify with your pension fund how much you can withdraw and which application deadlines apply so that you have your money in your account on time.
• Define how you would like to withdraw your 2nd and 3rd pillar assets. Withdrawing over several years can save you on taxes. You can read more about the advantages and disadvantages of withdrawing capital over several years in our article “Annuity or lump sum: Which is better?”.
• Draw up an investment strategy for the time after you retire: Do you need all your assets or can you afford to invest some of them for another purpose?
• Think about your living situation: Do you own a house or apartment? Do you already know whether you want to live in it in your old age or are you considering selling it or passing it on to your descendants?

One year before retirement

• Draw up an investment strategy for the time after you retire:
• Think about your estate: Protect your loved ones with a will, inheritance contract, or marriage contract.

Six months before retirement

• Notify the compensation office and the 2nd and 3rd pillar pension institutions when you retire so that your pension capital is in your account on time.
• If you still make your pillar 3a contributions in the year of your retirement, you will save on taxes.

After retirement

• Take out private accident insurance, as you will no longer be insured through your employer.
• Make legal provisions, for example by means of an advance care directive and living will, so that your wishes are implemented in every case.
• This also applies after retirement: Adjust your financial planning to suit your life situation.