The third pillar is used for voluntary private retirement savings. It complements the state scheme (OASI/AHV) and occupational pension funds. You can use the third pillar to close potential insurance gaps or accumulate capital for home ownership or self-employment.

A distinction is made between restricted pension provision (pillar 3a) and voluntary retirement planning (pillar 3b). Contributions to pillar 3a are tax deductible and remain restricted up until retirement. Pillar 3b does not offer any tax benefits, although it gives full flexibility in relation to saving.

You can deduct the amount that you pay into pillar 3a from your taxable income each year – although only up to a maximum annual amount.

At present, people in employment are allowed to pay up to a maximum of CHF 7,258 per year into pillar 3a, while self-employed workers can pay up to 20% of their net income, subject however to a maximum of CHF 36,288 (2025 figure).

In contrast to pillar 3a (restricted pension provision), pillar 3b is an unrestricted form of pension provision. This means that, whereas you can only withdraw your pillar 3a retirement savings less than five years before retirement, there is greater flexibility under pillar 3b. You can use pillar 3b to pursue short-term savings goals. However, you only receive tax benefits under pillar 3a.

As a general rule, it is worth making payments into the three pillars as early as possible. This is the case, in particular, for people who will invest their pillar 3a savings in securities. Pillar 3a retirement planning is also particularly attractive as you not only accumulate capital for your retirement, but you also save tax at the same time.

Pillar 3a life insurance is eligible for exactly the same tax benefits as a pillar 3a account held with a bank. One benefit of saving with an insurer compared to a bank is that the saver is in some sense obliged to pay the premiums regularly in order to achieve the savings goal.

In addition, insurance typically offers additional options such as the savings contribution guarantee or emergency support – or you can benefit from discounted care services with a pillar 3a account at Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB).

Each year, the federal government sets the maximum amount that can be paid into pillar 3a. In 2025, the maximum amount for those performing gainful activity and insured with a pension fund was CHF 7,258. Persons performing gainful activity who are not insured with a pension fund because they are self-employed or earn less than CHF 22,680 per year are allowed to pay up to 20% of their qualifying income into the third pillar, subject however to a maximum of CHF 36,288.

Third pillar retirement benefits can as a rule be paid out at the earliest five years before reaching the ordinary OASI/AHV retirement age (reference age) – i.e. from age 60. The reference age has been 65 for both men and women since 1 January 2024. The reference age for women born after 1961 increases from 64 to 65 in stages, by three months per year.
Conversely, retirement benefits can be deferred for up to five years if the person is still performing gainful activity.

Nonetheless, it is possible to make an early withdrawal from pillar 3a retirement savings in particular circumstances, for instance:

• in order to purchase owner-occupied residential property;
• when taking up self-employment;
• in the event of permanent emigration from Switzerland.

The balance is also paid out in the event of invalidity or death. Important: Making an early withdrawal has tax consequences as well as long-term implications for your retirement provision. It is therefore advisable to plan carefully.

The number of potential pillar 3a accounts is not specified in any laws or ordinances. However, the tax authorities in some cantons limit the number of lump-sum withdrawals. In addition, the providers of pension solutions normally limit the number of potential accounts and custody accounts, in most cases to around five.

It may make sense to have more than one account as making a withdrawal from a pillar 3a account may have tax consequences. If you have multiple pillar 3a accounts, this means that you can make withdrawals in stages across a number of years, so you can also save tax when making withdrawals.

Anyone still working after retirement is allowed to continue to make payments into the third pillar for a maximum of five years after reaching the ordinary retirement age (reference age). Once you are no longer performing gainful activity or have reached the maximum “deferred retirement age”, it is no longer possible to make any payments. After this point, you need to withdraw your savings.

An investment fund is a body of assets comprised of payments made by a large number of individual investors. A pillar 3a fund is an investment vehicle within restricted pension provision in which your money is not held in a savings account but is rather invested in securities – for example, in equities, bonds or real estate funds. This means you have the opportunity to generate a higher return than with a classic pillar 3a account. The risk, however, is slightly higher, because the value can fluctuate in line with stock market performance.

Many providers offer various funds with different equity components – the higher the equity component, the greater the chances of securing a return (although the greater the fluctuations too).

A pillar 3a fund can make sense, especially for investors with a long-term horizon. Both the BEKB 3a pension solution as well as the MyLiberty pension solution offer investment strategies in pillar 3a funds with different equity components.

From 2026, you can make retrospective payments into pillar 3a, although only to cover contribution gaps arising from 2025.

This means that if you did not pay in the maximum amount in 2025, you have ten years during which you can close this gap retrospectively. These subsequent payments are tax deductible. However, some conditions need to be met:

• You received income subject to OASI/AHV during the year for which there is a contribution gap.
• You were also gainfully active during the year for which you are making a subsequent payment.
• You must pay in full the ordinary maximum amount for the current year in which you are making the subsequent payment.
• The subsequent payment must not be higher than the maximum amount for the year concerned.
• A maximum of one subsequent payment can be made for each year for which there is a gap.
• A subsequent payment can only be made if you have not yet received any retirement benefits.