The well-known saying ‘save for a rainy day’ could be freely adapted as ‘save while you’re young, and you’ll have enough in your old age’. This sums up the aim of occupational and personal pension provision. “However, we’ve noticed that young people in particular show little interest in the subject of pensions, despite the fact that most could manage a monthly investment of CHF 100, even at a young age. Many self-employed people also overlook the topic of pensions for too long, forget about it, or at most set up one large pillar 3a account. It’s only when they come to get married, have children or buy a home that this attitude changes,” says Barbara Bienek, Deputy-Chair of the Board of Directors and Head of Client Business at Liberty Pension Ltd.

This independent Schwyz-based company comprises seven foundations, and offers occupational and private pension solutions, as well as investment opportunities for everyone from private customers, the self-employed and SMEs to large companies and institutional investors. To this end, it collaborates with Swiss private banks, asset managers, insurers, brokers and other partners. “The road to becoming an established full-service provider was a hard one though,” recalls Barbara Bienek. “When we launched our vested benefits foundation in 2005, hardly anyone wanted to entrust us with their money. <How long have you been around? Come back in five years when you’ve gained more experience> was often the first reaction.”

“But my husband and I weren’t put off. We were confident we could do it,” says Barbara Bienek. “We did indeed manage to win over one customer after another and have thus grown steadily over the last 17 years.” Today, Liberty Pension Ltd employs over 100 staff. When asked about the secret to her success and what advice she would give to other start-ups, she says: “Enjoying the job and being determined to persevere are crucial. You have to be aware that the first few years will be no walk in the park. For a long time, we didn’t have any free weekends, and for many years, we didn’t go on any holidays. You have to be passionate if you want to succeed.”

It is equally important to avoid resting on your laurels. “We’re always coming up with new ideas and trying to offer our customers that little bit extra. We’re constantly striving for that cherry on top,” says Barbara Bienek. But the shortest route is not always the best. She explains that it is very often worth going the extra mile, so that customers are 200 percent satisfied in the end, because when their response is ‘wow, I didn’t know about that, I really like it’, they will soon be recommending you to others. “We never advertised, as we simply didn’t have the money for it,” she recalls. However, word of Liberty’s expertise and product quality spread quickly. “Being recommended to others is the best compliment. But it takes a long time for a young company to reach that point. It took about ten years for our competitors to really take us seriously.” She adds that she and her colleagues were simply ‘the young wild ones’ for a long time. “Today, others are playing that role, and it’s up to us to make sure we stay on top,” says Barbara Bienek with a laugh.

In autumn 2022, the staff at Liberty Pension Ltd moved into new offices in Schwyz. “We feel very much at home in the new premises, which have plenty of wood and glass, plus views of Lake Lauerz and the impressive mountain landscape. We combined our two former sites and now have more space, also for new staff,” says Barbara Bienek. She is of the opinion that if they want to continue the steady growth of recent years, they can only do so by further increasing process automation. “We’re constantly training staff, because finding new qualified personnel is a huge challenge for us. As a place to work, Schwyz doesn’t have as much pull as Zurich or other cities. Our selling points are the landscape, nature and being a family-run business.” She also mentions that the favourable rate of withholding tax in the canton of Schwyz ensures that switching to Schwyz pays off, particularly for customers who are moving abroad permanently.

Many customers appreciate being able to obtain as many products as possible from a single source and having just one contact partner to look after their needs. “We regularly get asked whether, alongside occupational pension provision, we could also offer daily allowance or accident insurance,” says Barbara Bienek. “Thanks to our partnership with V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a, which recently became a minority shareholder in our company, Liberty has been able to expand its portfolio to cover this area as well.” In return, V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a benefits from Liberty’s know-how. “We’ve been insured with V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a ever since our company was founded and we share the same values. When my husband and I were thinking about succession planning around two years ago, we explored the market and ended up talking to V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a. That’s what led to the minority stake.” It is very important to Barbara and Oliver Bienek that when they retire, they do not simply abandon the company and staff to their fate. “V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a was the right fit. We can now look ahead to our future and to that of the company with a little more peace of mind.”