�۶���Ƶ

The Federal Council has adopted the required changes to the Verordnung über die steuerliche Abzugsberechtigung von Beiträgen an anerkannte Vorsorgeformen [Federal ordinance on the tax deduction of contributions to recognized pension plans] (BVV 3). In doing so, it is implementing a mandate from parliament and a motion from Council of States member Erich Ettlin to enable retroactive payments into pillar 3a.

Following the change, 2026 will be the first year in which a gap from the previous year can be closed retroactively. This will allow people to make retroactive payments into their private pension provision if they have gaps from 2025. The new rules apply to persons gainfully employed in Switzerland who have not paid the maximum annual amount into their pillar 3a in 2025 or subsequent years.

In the future, it will be possible for those persons to pay contributions retroactively for a period of up to ten years and deduct them from taxes. The third pillar will therefore become an even more important component of the Swiss pension system. This is particularly relevant because the first pillar (state pension system) and the second pillar (occupational pension provision) are facing major challenges due to demographic developments and other factors.

It is estimated that the new rules will lead to an annual reduction in direct federal tax receipts of CHF 100 to 150 million. Lost income tax revenue at cantonal and municipal level is expected to be CHF 200 to 450 million.

Paying into pillar 3a retroactively can have many advantages for you – both for your retirement provision and in terms of taxes. Retroactive payments increase the retirement capital you have saved in pillar 3a. This gives you more financial security and flexibility when you retire. Retroactive payments can also be deducted from your taxable income, and the effect from compound interest increases the more assets you have.

The extent to which this new option will be beneficial to you depends on your income, the amount of your retroactive payments and any benefits you purchase. Your place of residence, local tax rates and your marital status also play a role. Closing any gaps requires careful planning. Just how much you can benefit will depend on which strategy you choose. It’s advisable to check carefully which approach would bring the greatest advantages given your situation – or whether you could save a similar amount for retirement through different means.

Your retirement provision is specific to your individual circumstances and so is your strategy to gain maximum benefit from retroactive payments into pillar 3a. However, in general, you should close the gaps in the years for which the ten-year period is closer to expiring. Under certain circumstances, it may make sense to choose a more recent year to pay contributions into first, e.g. if you expect to receive a sum of money in the near future or you expect the amount of money you’re able to save to increase.

It’s not always beneficial to close the gaps in the earliest years first, especially if large amounts are involved, because you have to pay in the whole amount in one go. Skipping individual years can be a good strategy if you want to retroactively close all of the gap for a specific year or if you know you will receive additional sums of money at some point in the future, for example, through an inheritance or a salary increase.

Postponing payments to subsequent years can be worthwhile from a tax perspective if your taxable income increases sufficiently or if you have extremely high deductions, such as for house renovations, in the current tax year. The reason for this is that the additional income normally means you have a higher tax rate than you previously did. If your income doesn’t change or decreases, it’s generally not worth postponing payments to subsequent years because the tax advantage is lower.

The rule for postponing payments doesn’t always apply because the income tax progression flattens out. Whether it makes sense to postpone payments depends on a number of factors: the amount of the payments, your taxable income and the income tax progression, which in turn is influenced by a range of factors. However, it can generally be said that, in the case of low incomes, postponing payments only brings tax advantages if the amount of income increases sharply, for example, due to promotion.

It’s generally possible to withdraw your pillar 3a assets up to five years before you reach the reference age. If you continue to be gainfully employed beyond the reference age, you can keep your pillar 3a accounts until you stop working or, at the latest, until you reach the age of 70.

However, you will need several pillar 3a accounts if you want to stagger the withdrawal of your pillar 3a capital because it’s not possible to withdraw only part of a pillar 3a account in connection with retirement.

In other words, you need to ask yourself: From a tax point of view, is it worthwhile staggering the capital withdrawal over several years to make retroactive payments in other years? You also need to check whether your income tax advantage from retroactive payments or from postponing payments would be greater than the potentially higher tax burden from withdrawing capital.

The answer will vary from person to person and situation to situation. It depends on a range of factors, such as tax rates, place of residence and marital status. Given the complex nature of this topic, it makes sense to get advice.

Paying retroactively into pillar 3a will be possible from 2026 for the previous year. The new federal ordinance contains many rules. This is why not all gainfully employed persons in Switzerland will benefit in the same way. Retroactive payments into pillar 3a are aimed at helping you to save more assets for your retirement. How big the advantages will be for you personally depends on a number of factors. With the right strategy, you can ensure you obtain the maximum benefit. It’s therefore worth relying on the knowledge of experts in your planning.