Video, 3 min 9 s VIAC vs finpension vs frankly: which pillar 3a for expats?
VIAC, finpension and frankly are all low-cost pillar 3a apps, about 0.39 to 0.44% all-in on their equity strategies.
Pillar 3a: bank or insurance? What expats should know.
Should your pillar 3a be at a bank or with an insurer? Banking 3a is a tax-advantaged savings account. Insurance 3a adds cover if you die or cannot work. It fits a family with a mortgage or dependants; most singles and couples without children are better served by banking 3a.
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The full guide
Pillar 3a: bank or insuranceAlso on Swiss 3rd pillar vs life insurance.
Questions about your own contracts?
We read them with you on screen and tell you whether to stay, switch or restructure.
Book your first Swiss insurance reviewThe full transcript.
0:00 Two different jobs
Pillar 3a: bank or insurance, which is better? As an expat, you can open either, if you earn income in Switzerland that pays AHV contributions. The question is which one fits you. The short answer: they do different jobs. Banking 3a is tax-advantaged saving. Insurance 3a adds cover for the people who depend on your income. For most singles, and couples without children, banking 3a is the cleaner answer.
0:34 Banking 3a
Banking 3a, at an app like VIAC, frankly or finpension, costs about 0 to 0.5% a year. Pay any amount, any year, within the cap, and switch providers without a penalty. But if disability stops your income, your contributions stop.
0:54 Insurance 3a
Insurance 3a costs more: about 1 to 1.5% a year, or more. In return, if disability stops your earning, the insurer keeps paying your contributions. If you die, your beneficiaries get a guaranteed minimum. But the premium is a commitment: once you sign, you pay it. Over 20 years, on a balance that reaches about CHF 500,000, the cost of banking 3a adds up to about CHF 40,000. Insurance 3a: about 125,000. The gap, about 85,000, buys the waiver and the death benefit. Does your household need what it buys?
1:41 Who it fits
Insurance 3a fits a narrow but real situation: a family with debt or dependants. The example on our page: a single-earner family in Zürich, two children. CHF 2,400 a year go into insurance 3a, sized to the gap. The other 4,858 go into banking 3a.
2:07 Who it does not fit
For most singles and couples without children, the answer is banking 3a, plus a small term life policy if there is a mortgage. The insurance 3a sale is rarely the right call there, and we tell clients so. One trap we watch for: these contracts usually run 15 to 30 years. Leave early, and surrender penalties mean you pay back protection you never used. For a stay of 5 to 10 years, the product is wrong by structure. So ask first: who depends on your income? If no one, banking 3a. Look again when a first child or a mortgage arrives.
2:50 Your first Swiss insurance review
If you'd like someone to read your own contracts with you, book your first Swiss insurance review. It's free, 45 minutes, in English, with Robert or Nicole. The link is in the description.
