Pension planning

It is never too early to start planning for your retirement. What the money will be used to finance, depends on your wishes and plans. Would you like to retire early? Travel the world after you retire? Or are you saving for your children's education? As a rule, we recommend you start thinking about your retirement around the age of 50.

If you withdraw your pension fund as an annuity, you will receive a steady income for the rest of your life. If you choose a lump sum payment, you will receive your entire pension funds in one installment. Whether a lifetime annuity, a lump sum payment or a combination of the two is more suited to your situation, depends on a variety of factors: your requirements for security, your financial flexibility, your dreams and plans after your retirement. 

As a rule, the old age and survivors’ pension (OASI) and the money from your 2nd pillar pension fund are paid out as a lifetime annuity. However, these are often not sufficient to preserve the standard of living to which you are accustomed. The money from the first two pillars is often less than your previous income. Irrespective of the resources at your disposal following retirement, this gap can be minimized or closed. For example, with a lifelong, private pension or with a payment plan. Get advice from our specialists. We analyze your personal situation and show you the various options available to you.

The OASI pension, i.e. benefits from the first pillar, can be drawn at the earliest two years before regular retirement. As soon as the OASI reform comes into effect, it will be possible to draw a portion of your pension (between 20% and 80%) early and defer the rest. 

With the second pillar, your occupational pension fund, you have the option of taking out your pension benefits as a lump sum, as an annuity or a combination of both.

Many pension funds already offer the option of partial retirement. For example, those who reduce their working hours from 100% to 60% at the age of 63 can then draw 40% of their annuity or pension capital. Under the OASI reform, all pension funds are obliged to facilitate this form of partial retirement.

Depending on the terms of your pension fund, you can often draw the benefits from your pension as early as 58 or 60. However, the consequence of this is that the pension capital / annuities paid out will be permanently lower than in the case of ordinary retirement. This is because the pension capital that you have saved will be correspondingly smaller. 

Currently, you may draw funds from pillar 3a five years before regular retirement age, i.e. at age 59 for women and 60 for men at the earliest.

A financial or retirement plan is a life plan. Up to age 58, building up your assets is the key focus. After your 58th birthday, the focus shifts to planning the third phase of your life. 

To help with your financial and pension planning, our specialists can work out a concept that suits you using your needs and goals. In doing so, we will take into account your current living situation and the benefits from all three pillars. We will identify gaps in your coverage and show you how to minimize or fill these. Since your personal circumstances can change with time, just like your plans and wishes, you should regularly go over your plan and make changes if necessary. 

A financial and retirement plan gives you clarity. You are building the foundations on which you can make the right financial decisions.

As a rule, you should begin thinking about the topic of early retirement as early as possible, but no later than from the age of 50. Start thinking about the question of when you want to retire as soon as possible. Because early retirement is costly: first, you have to bridge the gap financially between early retirement and the time you begin receiving your OASI pension. Second, the final years of contributions have a significant influence on pension fund capital thanks to the accrued interest on your total assets, and you will have to reckon with noticeable losses. Finally, you will no longer be receiving your earnings from gainful employment. 

Tip: the pension certificate issued by your pension fund illustrates how much the amount of your occupational retirement pension will vary depending on the date of your retirement. This will provide you with an initial, rough overview.