PensFree vested benefits foundation

Mixed strategy profiles

PensFree offers you numerous mixed strategy profiles from investment foundations and investment funds depending on your personal risk capacity and risk appetite. You benefit from institutional rates for all your investment solutions. This brings tangible cost advantages, thus adding value to your assets.

Free choice of bank, free choice of strategy

PensFree works with various banks, investment foundations and fund providers. The choice of bank and implementation type of your investment strategy is entirely yours. A mortgage to finance an owner-occupied home brings you additional added value.

Benefit from our network

Investment is a trust-based business. If you join PensFree, you can select a bank from our exclusive network in addition to our founding partner Reichmuth & Co:

• Bordier & Cie

• Julius Bär & Co AG

• Raiffeisenbank Basel

• Raiffeisenbank Sarine-Ouest

• Raiffeisenbank Ajoie

• Reichmuth & Co

• Sparkasse Schwyz

• Thurgauer Kantonalbank

• UBS Switzerland AG

• Vontobel AG

• Zähringer Privatbank AG

Investment strategies with a discretionary asset management mandate

The advantages of a customised investment strategy are most effective if you want to use specific securities or special themes, such as infrastructures or sustainable investments for your selected strategy. These strategies are only suitable for larger retirement asset volumes for diversification purposes. You attain maximum benefit when you align your retirement portfolio with your private assets.

PensExpert mortgage: an investment gem

A homeowner usually takes a mortgage from a bank and pays interest on the loan. However, with the “IST2 Hypotheken Wohnen” investment group of the IST2 Investment Foundation, many insured parties invest part of their pension capital in the same fund and receive a corresponding mortgage as a private person.

Your advantages at a glance:

• attractive alternative to fixed-income securities

• low-risk investment for improved retirement custodian account stability

• mortgage possible up to 100% of your pension capital

• tax-related interest rate discount

• tax-deductible distribution to the retirement custodian account

Lump-sum or retirement pension?

There are some important points to bear in mind when withdrawing pension assets. Take planning into your hands at an early stage. 

PensFree always organises pension fund assets as retirement capital. However, if you prefer a retirement pension, the solution is: Independent. Our second vested benefits foundation offers you a lifelong retirement pension. Like PensFree, Independent is a PensExpert innovation – with the same expertise and value preservation.The retirement capital can be paid out up to five years before the normal AHV retirement age.

Transfer to private assets

PensFree enables you to transfer your securities custodian account to private assets if you withdraw capital.

Additional withdrawal options

Scenario 1: You become self-employed

Vested benefits can be paid out if you assume self-employment as your main occupation and are no longer affiliated to a pension fund. In this case, the withdrawal must be during your first year of self-employment.

Scenario 2: Early withdrawal for home ownership

You may withdraw vested benefits either in part or in full to finance owner-occupied residential property.

Scenario 3: You leave Switzerland permanently

You may qualify for a payout if you leave Switzerland permanently.

Residence in Switzerland

A one-off tax applies to the withdrawal of pension assets. If you are resident in Switzerland, the pension assets are disbursed separately to other income and taxed at a prefetential rate. The taxation of this capital payment varies among the cantons.  

You can break the tax progression, for example, through early withdrawals for financing owner-occupied property or, if you have several vested benefits accounts, by means of staggered capital withdrawals.

First things first: you may, but are not obliged to withdraw.

You may leave your assets in your vested benefits account where they are tax-exempt. Then the current earnings do not have to be taxed as income. Moreover, they are not subject to wealth tax. You may exploit this advantage for up to five years after reaching the normal AHV retirement age.

Restrictions that you must take into account.

The agreement on free movement of persons between Switzerland and the EU/EFTA also applies to payments from occupational pension provisions.

The mandatory 2nd pillar pension assets may be withdrawn up to five years before reaching the normal AHV retirement age as a retirement lump sum. This restriction does not apply to extra mandatory retirement assets. They can be paid out regardless.