What are the three pillars of the Swiss pension system?

Pillar 1 is the state AHV/AVS pension, a pay-as-you-go scheme covering basic needs. Pillar 2 is the mandatory occupational BVG pension funded by employer and employee. Pillar 3 is voluntary private saving, with the tax-privileged 3a being the most common. Together they aim to replace roughly 60% of pre-retirement income.

How much can I contribute to pillar 3a?

Employees with a pillar-2 pension can deduct up to about CHF 7,056 per year into pillar 3a (the 2024 cap), fully deductible from taxable income. Self-employed people without a pension fund can contribute up to 20% of net income, capped at a higher figure. The exact limit is set annually.

How is the BVG occupational pension built up?

Both you and your employer pay age-banded contributions on your coordinated salary into a pension fund. The accumulated capital earns interest and, at retirement, is converted to an annual pension using the conversion rate (Umwandlungssatz), historically around 6.8% for the mandatory portion, so CHF 500,000 of capital yields roughly CHF 34,000 a year.

How is the AHV state pension determined?

The AHV pension depends on your years of contributions and your average lifetime income. A full contribution record produces a pension between a minimum and maximum (for a single person roughly CHF 1,260 to CHF 2,520 per month in recent figures). Gaps in contributions reduce it proportionally.

Is this calculator an official pension statement?

No. It is an indicative projection using simplified rates and your inputs. Your real AHV depends on your full earnings history, and your BVG depends on your fund's specific plan and conversion rate. Always check your official AHV statement and pension-fund certificate for precise figures.

Switzerland Pension & Retirement Calculator

A Switzerland pension and retirement calculator that projects your retirement income across the country’s famous three-pillar system: the state AHV/AVS pension (pillar 1), the occupational BVG pension fund (pillar 2), and voluntary pillar 3a savings (pillar 3). Each pillar works differently, and this tool brings them together into a single indicative yearly income figure.

How it works

The three pillars are projected separately and then summed:

Pillar 1 — AHV/AVS is a pay-as-you-go state pension scaled by your contribution years and average income. The tool interpolates between the minimum (~CHF 1,260/month) and maximum (~CHF 2,520/month) single-person pension based on your income and a full 44-year contribution record, reducing it pro-rata for missing years.
Pillar 2 — BVG accumulates capital from age-banded employer + employee contributions on your coordinated salary, grows at an assumed interest rate, and at retirement is converted to an annuity using the conversion rate (Umwandlungssatz, ≈6.8%). So annuity = capital × conversion rate.
Pillar 3a is voluntary saving up to the annual deductible cap (CHF 7,056 for employees in 2024). The tool compounds your existing pot plus annual contributions to retirement.

total retirement income ≈ AHV pension + (BVG capital × conversion rate) + 3a annuity

Example and notes

A 35-year-old earning CHF 90,000, retiring at 65, with CHF 150,000 of BVG capital and CHF 7,000/year going into 3a, might project an AHV pension near the upper-middle band, a BVG pot that grows to several hundred thousand francs (yielding an annuity at ~6.8%), and a 3a pot in the low-to-mid six figures. Summed, the three pillars commonly target replacing around 60% of pre-retirement income — the Swiss system’s stated goal.

This is a simplified projection: real AHV depends on your full earnings history and real BVG on your fund’s specific plan and conversion rate. Check your official AHV statement and pension certificate for exact numbers. Everything here is computed in your browser.

Switzerland Pension & Retirement Calculator

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How it works

Example and notes