Swiss second pillar 2026: BVG pension fund guide

Short answer: what is the Swiss second pillar?

The Swiss second pillar is occupational pension provision, usually labelled BVG/LPP or Pensionskasse. Contributions from insured employees and employers, plus interest, build personal retirement capital; the fund also covers disability and death. In 2026 the mandatory entry threshold is CHF 22,680. Your actual insured salary, deduction and benefits still depend on your own pension-fund regulations and annual Vorsorgeausweis.

2026 quick facts

• Entry threshold: CHF 22,680 annual salary with the same employer for mandatory BVG cover.

• Mandatory range: salary up to CHF 90,720, a CHF 26,460 coordination deduction and a CHF 3,780 minimum coordinated salary.

• Age: risk cover no earlier than 1 January after age 17; retirement saving from 1 January after age 24.

• Funding: the employer's total contributions must at least equal those of all insured employees together.

• 2026 minimum interest: 1.25% on mandatory BVG retirement assets; extra-mandatory assets may follow different rules.

• Personal source of truth: your Vorsorgeausweis and fund regulations matter more than a generic online calculator.

BVG, LPP and Pensionskasse

BVG is the German and LPP the French abbreviation for the federal minimum rules. Pensionskasse means the actual pension institution selected by the employer. The statutory minimum is the mandatory portion; cover above it is extra-mandatory. Many funds insure lower or higher salaries and offer better benefits. Two people with the same gross pay can therefore have different deductions and projected pensions. BSV financing guidance.

Occupational provision supplements state OASI. Contribution records and state-pension entitlement belong in the first-pillar guide; the third pillar is voluntary private provision with separate rules.

Who is mandatorily insured?

As a rule, an employee already insured under OASI is subject to mandatory occupational provision when earning at least CHF 22,680 from the same employer in 2026. Cover starts with employment, no earlier than 1 January after the 17th birthday. Until age 24 contributions cover only death and disability; retirement saving starts on 1 January after the 24th birthday. Current BSV eligibility rules.

Self-employed people, short fixed-term contracts and salaries below the threshold are not necessarily within the mandatory system, although voluntary or enhanced fund cover can apply. Part-time work and multiple employers require special attention: the threshold may be tested per employer and a full coordination deduction can create a gap, while a stronger plan may prorate it or insure lower salaries. A missing BVG payslip line is therefore a question to investigate, not automatic proof of an error.

Mandatory BVG figures for 2026

These are federal minimums, not a complete description of your plan. Voters rejected the 2024 BVG reform. Its proposed lower threshold, percentage-based coordination deduction and 6.0% conversion rate are not current 2026 rules. Official 2026 amounts. Rejected-reform record.

How the retirement capital grows

Retirement capital consists of age credits, employee and employer funding, transferred vested benefits and interest. Mandatory age credits equal 7% of coordinated salary from 25–34, 10% from 35–44, 15% from 45–54 and 18% from 55 to reference age. These are credits to the account, not a universal employee deduction. Risk and administration costs, plan financing and employer shares differ between funds.

Across the insured workforce, the employer must contribute at least as much as employees together; this does not guarantee a precise 50–50 split on every personal line. The minimum interest on mandatory assets remains 1.25% in 2026. A fund may credit more and may apply different interest to extra-mandatory assets. Federal minimum-interest decision. Use the payslip guide to verify the actual monthly deduction.

How to read the Vorsorgeausweis

Your fund issues an annual pension statement. According to the BSV, it must inform you about benefit entitlements, coordinated salary, contribution rate, retirement assets, and the fund's organisation and financing. Official BVG glossary.

Changing jobs and tracing forgotten assets

When employment ends, the old fund calculates the exit or vested benefit. It must be transferred to the new employer's fund. If there is no new fund yet, you choose a vested-benefits bank account or insurance policy. Provide the destination promptly, then reconcile the old exit statement with the credit received by the new institution. BSV job-change guide.

If you do not know where an older balance remains, the BVG Guarantee Fund's Central Office for the Second Pillar can match you with reported assets. It does not hold the money or decide entitlement; the identified institution handles the claim. Official lost-assets search.

Pension, lump sum or a combination

At retirement the fund may provide a pension, lump sum or combination under law and its regulations. The statement shows accumulated assets and projections. The statutory 6.8% minimum conversion rate applies to mandatory assets at reference age. An enveloping fund may calculate total assets differently provided the statutory minimum benefit is preserved. Election deadlines, permitted capital share, consent and forms are fund-specific, so request them directly in writing. BSV retirement steps.

Taking all capital removes the lifelong fund pension that capital could have produced and transfers investment, longevity and spending risk to you. This is a personal financial and tax decision. Ask for at least two written scenarios and keep OASI, occupational pension and pillar 3a projections separate.

Disability and survivors' protection

The second pillar is also risk insurance. If you were insured when the incapacity that led to disability began, you may receive a BVG disability pension in addition to IV; extra-mandatory calculations follow the plan. Conditions for spouse, registered-partner, partner and children's benefits differ. Review your personal insured amounts and notify the fund after family-status changes. BSV disability guidance.

Employee checklist

1. Obtain the fund regulations, annual Vorsorgeausweis and latest payslip.

2. Reconcile reported annual and coordinated salary with the contract; use the Swiss salary guide for market comparison.

3. Separate mandatory and extra-mandatory assets, savings and risk costs, and employee and employer funding.

4. After every job change, verify the full transfer; use the official search for unknown old balances.

5. Each year compare opening assets, contributions, interest, risk cover and projections.

6. Before retirement request written pension, capital and combination scenarios from your own fund.

Which questions belong in a separate guide?

Leaving Switzerland, moving to Hungary, cash withdrawal, vested-benefits accounts, divorce and taxation are distinct legal and tax outcomes. This canonical intentionally keeps them separate from basic membership and statement interpretation. Before departure, use the separate departure-capital guide. This prevents multiple pages from competing for the same broad query.