Recovering your Swiss pension assets

Have you worked in Switzerland, even for just a few years? Then you paid into three pension pillars there. Part of that money can be paid out to you as soon as you leave; the rest is waiting for you. And many accounts are simply forgotten: at the end of 2025, the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution (Stiftung Auffangeinrichtung BVG / Fondation institution supplétive LPP), which notably takes in assets nobody has claimed, managed 1.6 million vested benefits accounts worth 21 billion Swiss francs.

The three pillars in brief

1st pillar: AHV/OASI

For an EU or EFTA citizen, AHV/OASI contributions are never refunded: they entitle you to a Swiss pension at the reference age, from one full year of contributions. The reference age is 65; for women born between 1961 and 1963, it is 64 years and 3, 6 or 9 months. Only nationals of countries without a social security agreement, and those of a few countries whose agreement provides for it (Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Tunisia, Uruguay), can get a refund.

The individual account statement is free and can be requested online, even from abroad. Do it now: a missing year is much easier to correct early than at retirement.

2nd pillar: occupational pension (BVG/LPP)

When you leave your Swiss employer, your assets (the “termination benefit”) go into one or two vested benefits accounts. When you leave Switzerland for good:

outside the EU and EFTA, you can withdraw everything;
in the EU or EFTA, the extra-mandatory portion can be withdrawn, but the mandatory portion stays blocked if you are compulsorily insured for a pension in your new country. Otherwise, for example if you are not working, you can withdraw everything by proving it to the Liaison Office;
from 5 years before the reference age, i.e. usually 60, everything can be withdrawn as a retirement benefit, wherever you live.

A lump-sum withdrawal requires your spouse's written consent. The assets can also fund the purchase of your main home, including abroad.

3rd pillar: pillar 3a

Pillar 3a can be withdrawn in full when you leave for good, even to the EU. The retroactive 3a buy-ins introduced in 2025 require income subject to AHV/OASI in Switzerland: they no longer apply to people who have left.

Withholding tax and how to get it back

Any 2nd or 3rd pillar capital paid to a non-resident is subject to Swiss withholding tax, at the rate of the canton where the fund or foundation is based: for example 2.5 to 5.1% in total in Schwyz, more elsewhere. It can be refunded within 3 years when the tax treaty gives your country of residence the right to tax it.

You live in	2nd pillar	3rd pillar (3a)
France, Italy	Refundable if the capital is taxed there	Same
Germany, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, United States	Refundable	Refundable
Belgium	No, unless contributions were not deducted in Switzerland	Refundable
United Kingdom, Canada, Australia	No	No

When the Swiss tax is final, the canton matters: you can switch vested benefits foundation at any time, and so choose a low-tax canton before asking for the payout.

In France, 2nd pillar capital paid as a lump sum can, if you opt for it, be subject to a flat-rate final levy (prélèvement libératoire) of 7.5% after a 10% allowance, i.e. 6.75% of the amount. You tick the option on the income tax return for the year of payment, and it is irrevocable. Have someone confirm that it applies to an early withdrawal before retirement.

Finding a forgotten account

Job changes, house moves, a fund that could not reach you: assets are easily forgotten. The Central Office 2nd Pillar tells you, free of charge, which institution holds them. All it takes is a signed form; the answer arrives by post. In 2025 it handled 190,099 requests and found assets in 78% of cases. A relative can run the search with a power of attorney, or after a death with the death certificate and proof of the family relationship.

If nobody claims them, the assets stay with the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution and then, 10 years after the reference age, pass to the Guarantee Fund BVG/LPP: at the end of 2025, 45,475 accounts worth 313 million Swiss francs were waiting there for their owners.

Have you worked elsewhere?

Within the European Union, periods of work are added together to open the right to a pension, and each country pays its share. Elsewhere, the rules vary:

Germany

No refund of contributions for an EU citizen: you will receive a German pension if you have 5 years of insurance in total, including periods in the EU and Switzerland. You claim it through the pension authority of your country of residence.

United Kingdom

The State Pension can be claimed from abroad through the International Pension Centre, from 10 qualifying years of contributions. Since 6 April 2026, voluntary Class 2 contributions can no longer be paid from abroad, only Class 3. The Pension Tracing Service finds workplace pensions. Transferring a UK pension to the EU (QROPS) now costs 25%.

Australia

After a temporary visa, including a working holiday visa, you can claim your super once you have left, through the online DASP service. It is taxed at 65% for working holiday visas (417 and 462), and at 35% otherwise (45% for the untaxed element). Six months after departure, the fund transfers the super to the Australian Taxation Office, where you can still claim it.

Canada

The CPP pension, or QPP in Quebec, is paid abroad from a single valid contribution. Canada has social security agreements with France and Belgium. An RRSP withdrawal by a non-resident is subject to 25% withholding tax.

United States

You need 40 credits for a Social Security pension, but 6 US credits are enough thanks to the agreements with France and Belgium. A 401(k) withdrawal is subject to 30% withholding tax, which the tax treaty can reduce using form W-8BEN.

Luxembourg

The old-age pension is available at 65 with 120 months of insurance, adding together periods in the EU and Switzerland. Each country pays its share; you claim it through the pension authority of your country of residence.

Our support service

The official search is free, and you can do all of this yourself with this guide. If you would rather have help, we are preparing a support service: tracing your accounts, payout requests, proof that you are not subject to compulsory insurance, choice of foundation and refund of withholding tax, in Switzerland and in other countries. Depending on the case, it will be provided by us or by a specialist partner, and we will always tell you, before any commitment, what it costs and how we are paid.

The service opens soon. In the meantime, the diagnosis above already tells you what to ask for and from whom.

Rules summarised and checked in October 2026 against official Swiss sources. They do not replace advice from your pension fund, the tax authorities or an adviser.