Vested benefits accounts: All you need to know!

What is a vested benefits account?

A vested benefits account is a particular account where you can keep your pension fund money when you are not working. It is part of the second pillar system.

When you are working, you are enrolled in a pension fund. But if you leave your company and do not join another, you will not be part of a pension fund. In that case, you must move your pension fund capital to a vested benefits account.

An exception to that is that if you are becoming unemployed, you could choose to still contribute yourself to the pension fund. In this case, you would generally go to the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution. But this is a rare case.

This also applies if you move out of the pension fund system while still working, for instance, if you are moving abroad.

Just like a third pillar account must belong to a third pillar foundation, a vested benefits account belongs to a vested benefits foundation. These foundations are heavily regulated and must follow strict rules.

While not everybody can profit from vested benefits, they remain an important part of the retirement system. This article will cover everything there is to know about vested benefits.

Vested benefits and retirement

The usual way to use vested benefits is at retirement. It makes sense since it is part of the second pillar.

You can withdraw your vested benefits at retirement age or up to five years before normal retirement.

Also, it is currently possible to delay the withdrawal up to five years after retirement. However, this will not be possible after January 2024 unless you are still working.

Contrary to the second pillar in a pension fund, you cannot choose between a pension and a lump sum withdrawal. Indeed, you cannot draw a pension from a vested benefits account. You will need to withdraw the capital as a lump sum.

A few vested benefits foundations allow you to draw a pension, but this is extremely rare.

We must note that you cannot partially withdraw vested benefits accounts. At retirement, you have to withdraw it entirely.

Optimize for taxes

There is one thing very few people know: you can have two vested benefits accounts. Two accounts allow you to optimize your taxes when withdrawing from them.

You will pay a withdrawal tax when you withdraw your vested benefits. This tax is lower than the taxes you have saved using the second pillar, but it is not negligible either. Therefore, it is essential to try to optimize these taxes.

Withdrawal taxes are using a progressive system. This means you will pay a different tax rate on each tranche of your withdrawal. For instance, a progressive tax system may look like this (entirely made up for the example):

• 2% on the first 10’000 CHF
• 3% on the next 20’000 CHF
• 4% on the next 20 ‘000 CHF
• 5% on the rest

So, if you withdraw 60’000 CHF, you will pay 2100 CHF in taxes. So, higher amounts are taxed at higher rates.

Imagine you can withdraw 30’000 CHF the first year and 30’000 CHF the second. In that case, you will pay 1600 CHF in taxes. You have saved 500 CHF on your taxes, more than 25%!

Therefore, you should always try to have two vested benefits accounts. When you leave a pension fund, you can tell them to split your second pillar and send it to two vested benefits accounts.

It is also important to note that you cannot have two accounts with the same foundation. You need to have accounts with different vested benefits foundations.

Vested benefits and employment

As discussed before, you use a vested benefits account when you are not part of a pension fund, namely unemployed.

But it is important to know that when you are employed again in Switzerland, you must transfer your vested benefits to a pension fund. This is a rule of the retirement system.

Many people will say it is a grey area because pension funds cannot verify your vested benefits assets. And indeed, many people do not transfer their retirement benefits when working again. But this is against the rules. Therefore I would not recommend doing it. I recommend following the rule and transferring your vested benefits to a pension fund.

Vested benefits and death

In the event of death, the vested benefits go to the beneficiaries. The foundation determines the beneficiaries based on four different groups.

In most cases, the vested benefits will go to the members of the first group: the surviving spouse or partner, the surviving divorced spouse of partner (under some conditions), and dependent children.

If there is nobody in the first group, this will go down to group 2, group 3, and then group 4. If all the groups are empty, the vested benefits will return to the state.

In most cases, you will not have to do anything, but if you are living with an unregistered life partner, you should declare it to the foundation to ensure they can inherit (if you wish to).

If you want to learn all the details, read my article about retirement benefits and death.

Vested benefits and divorce

Finally, we cover the event of divorce.

If you get divorced or your registered same-sex partnership is dissolved, each spouse or partner is entitled to half of the vested benefits of the other party earned during the period of marriage or partnership. This is done regardless of your marital property regime.

Only the part earned during the official relationship will be shared, not the entire sum. And both parties will see their earned vested benefits cut in half and transferred to the other person.

If only one person worked, this could significantly reduce their retirement benefits. This is one reason divorce makes couples much poorer.

Withdraw vested benefits without retiring

There are several other ways to withdraw your vested benefits without retiring.

The most used way is to use your vested benefits assets to finance a mortgage. You can use your retirement benefits to cover 10% of the property value.

You can also use your vested benefits to pay off an existing mortgage. This is not something really interesting, but that is an option nonetheless.

If you become self-employed, you can use your vested benefits to start your own company.

Finally, if you leave switzeralnd permanently, you can get some or all of your assets. If you leave for a country outside the EU/EFTA  countries, you can withdraw the entire vested benefits. If you leave for a country part of the EU/EFTA, you will only be able to withdraw the extra-mandatory benefits.

The Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution

Many people have vested benefits assets in the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution and may not even know it.

Indeed, many people forget to transfer their second pillar benefits when they switch employers or stop working. In that case, pension funds must transfer the assets automatically to the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution.

How to choose vested benefits accounts?

When transferring your pension fund money to a vested benefits account, you must choose a vested benefits account. And as with every financial service, there are many options out there. And unfortunately, many of these options are pretty bad. So, how do we choose vested benefits accounts?

If you are close to withdrawing the money, your choice is simple. You only need to find a provider that allows you to keep the money in cash and charges as low fees (ideally zero) as possible.

However, if you are not close to retirement, you want to look for a provider that lets you invest your money.

There are several critical criteria for choosing a vested benefits provider.

First, you must look at the fees. You do not want to lose your hard-earned money in fees to a greedy banking institution. They usually charge a management fee in percent of your assets. This can eat your returns very quickly. And be careful that many companies are not transparent, and you have to look hard to find the total fees, not only the first fees they present.

Then, you need to look at the investment strategy of the company. You should prefer companies that offer passive funds.  Ideally, you want to be able to invest as much as possible in stocks.

Finally, you should look at the domicile of the vested benefits foundation. This domicile is essential if you withdraw your vested benefits while abroad. Indeed, if you are abroad, the domicile of the foundation will determine which canton will tax you. And there are some major differences in withdrawal taxes between Swiss cantons.

You can also at other small things like:

• Customization of portfolio
• Foreign exposure limits
• Sustainability options

The best vested benefits account

Best vested benefits account

Finpension Vested Benefits

5.0

Vey affordable

Finpension Vested Benefits is the best account in Switzerland.

Use the FEYKV5 code to get 25 CHF in your account!

Pros:

• Invest 99% in stocks

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By using the code FEYKV5, you will get an extra 25 CHF.

Currently, the best vested benefits provider is Finpension. This service has many advantages:

• You can invest up to 99% in stocks
• You only pay a 0.49% yearly fee (the lowest available!)
• Finpension is only using passive funds
• You can customize your portfolio in detail
• You can heavily invest in foreign currency instruments (without hedging)
• Excellent tax domicile for withdrawing abroad
• They have two foundations, ideal for splitting your assets

Finpension is significantly better than other alternatives if you want to invest aggressively. If I had to use a vested benefits account, I would use finpension.

You can read my review of Finpension vested benefits if you want more information.

However, keep in mind that if you look for a short term vested benefits account, Finpension may not be the best. Indeed, for the long-term, you want to invest it aggressively. But in the short term, you want to be more careful. In general, for the short term, you will want a good interest rate on cash and avoid exit fees.

Conclusion

There are many important notions regarding vested benefits. If you are serious about the retirement system of Switzerland, you should learn about this important subject too.

Choosing a good account is essential if you use vested benefits. Currently, finpension is the best option for aggressive investors.

If you want to learn more about the retirement subject, I encourage you to read my article about the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution, another little-known part of the retirement system.

What about you? Are you using a vested benefits account? Did I miss anything about these accounts?