Pictet Group
Individual Pension (3rd Pillar A)
Pictet Individual Pension Foundation (3rd Pillar A)
Route des Acacias 60
1211 Geneva 73
Tel. +41 58 323 29 60
Set aside additional funds for retirement while harnessing the tax advantages granted on tied individual retirement saving accounts (3rd Pillar A).
3rd Pillar A
The assets managed by our foundation are in safe hands. The retirement saving accounts are held with Banque Pictet & Cie SA and the related portfolios managed by Pictet Asset Management SA. Both companies are part of the Pictet Group, which enjoys a strong reputation worldwide for its investment performances, integrity and quality of service.
Our individualised retirement saving solutions enable you to invest your assets in one or more portfolios. Your investment strategy can be adapted at any time depending on your financial goals, personal circumstances and the state of financial markets.
Pictet Individual Pension Foundation (3rd Pillar A)
The Pictet Individual Pension Foundation (3rd Pillar A) was formed on 1 December 1990 to help individuals to set aside additional funds for retirement while harnessing the tax advantages granted on tied individual retirement saving accounts (3rd Pillar A). The foundation works comprehensively to increase the value of your retirement assets through a precise approach to investing and industry-standard processes that leverage the full range of possibilities available under Swiss law. Your tied individual retirement assets can thereby be managed as a whole. This offers several benefits, from reducing costs to increasing the scope for diversification (depending on the amounts invested), leading to a lower overall risk.
In addition, you are free to decide how much and how often you pay in. If you opt to make regular, fixed payments, you can use the “average price” method: when the net asset value of a share is down, you acquire more shares, and vice versa. Depending on how the markets are behaving, you can in this way optimise the average cost of your investments.
Whom is a 3rd Pillar A account for?
- Anyone taxed in Switzerland whose income derives from gainful employment, whether a salaried employee or self-employed, and who has to pay OASI/DI social security insurance.
- Any person wishing to improve the financing of their retirement.
- Taxpayers who would like to take advantage of the tax relief offered by the Confederation and the cantons.
- Anyone who is already paying into a 3rd Pillar A account or policy and who has not yet reached the statutory limits.
- Vested benefit holders who already have a tied 3rd Pillar A account and who wish to transfer their assets to a different retirement saving account.
Tax benefits of a 3rd Pillar A account
Payments into a tied retirement saving account (3rd Pillar A) may be deducted from taxable income, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 7 OPP3/BVV3. The maximum contributions permitted by law are determined by the Federal Council and rise regularly in line with inflation.
Maximum deductions for 2024:
- Employed or self-employed persons who are members of an occupational pension plan (2nd Pillar): CHF 7,056.
- Employed or self-employed persons who are not members of an occupational pension plan (2nd Pillar): 20% of income from gainful employment, up to CHF 35,280.
All the income is exempt from income tax and is not subject to withholding tax by the Swiss Confederation or by the cantons, until such time as the capital is withdrawn. Furthermore, the retirement capital is not counted for wealth tax until withdrawn.
If assets are withdrawn, or in the event of death, the Confederation and the cantons will tax any lump sum as income (usually separately from other income) at a special rate or at the pension rate.
In some cantons, however, lump-sum settlements paid to specific types of beneficiary are subject to inheritance tax instead of income tax. In some cases, lump-sum settlements may also be subject to inheritance tax in addition to income tax.