Minimum Age For Early Retirement With Swiss Pillar 2

What is the earliest age at which a person can retire and begin to receive a pension from their Swiss occupational pension fund (pillar 2)?

Hi there,

The earliest possible retirement age in the second pillar (occupational benefits) is currently 58 years old.

It is important to note that retiring ahead of standard legal retirement age (64 years old for women, 65 years old for men) is classified as early retirement. Early retirees must continue to pay social security old age and survivors' insurance (OASI) contributions until they reach standard legal retirement age.

If you remain employed part-time and income generated through your employment surpasses certain limits (these limits vary based on your pension income and personal wealth), you may be classified as employed by the social security office. In this case OASI contributions will be deducted from your salary and matched by your employer. You do not need to pay pension- and asset-based contributions out of your own pocket in this case.

You can calculate the amount of OASI contributions which you will be required to pay during early retirement based on your pension income, personal wealth and employment income using the moneyland.ch Early Retirement OASI Calculator.

Best regards from Moneyguru

Moneyland User Questions wrote on August 15, 2018

What is the earliest age at which a person can retire and begin to receive a pension from their Swiss occupational pension fund (pillar 2)?

no minimum age if you move abroad or open your own business, you can cash out almost everything at any time and invest the money how you see fit

Pillar 2a assets (compulsory occupational pension fund contributions) can only be cashed out if you leave Switzerland and take up residence in a country which is not an EU or EFTA member.

If you move to an EU/EFTA member country, you must ask your pension fund to transfer your assets to a Swiss vested benefits account, retirement fund or whole life insurance policy. The assets are then held in escrow by a vested benefits foundation until you become eligible to withdraw them.

Provided that all criteria are met, vested benefits can be withdrawn when you reach the legal age, purchase a primary residence, become self-employed, or if you become disabled. You can transfer your vested benefits from one vested benefits solution to another at any time, and if you become employed in Switzerland again you can transfer your assets to your new occupational pension fund.

Pillar 2b assets (voluntary occupational pension fund contributions) can be cashed out in full when you move your residence outside of Switzerland, regardless of which country you take up residence in.