Video, 3 min 10 s Pillar 3a: bank or insurance? What expats should know
Should your pillar 3a be at a bank or with an insurer?
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. The app rarely changes your result. Three other decisions do.
Jump to a chapter.
The full guide
VIAC vs frankly vs finpensionQuestions 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 Closer than you think
VIAC, finpension or frankly: which Pillar 3a should you choose as an expat in Switzerland? The short answer: the three are closer than you think. The app rarely changes your lifetime number. Three other decisions do. On an equity strategy, all in, VIAC costs about 0.40 to 0.44% a year, frankly about 0.43, finpension about 0.39. On a peak balance of CHF 250,000, that is roughly CHF 100 to 200 a year between them. Real, but small.
0:43 Bank or insurance 3a
The first decision comes before any app: banking 3a or insurance 3a. Banking 3a is low cost and flexible. Insurance 3a sits inside a life insurance contract: a guaranteed death benefit, usually a premium waiver if you cannot work, but a higher cost and less flexibility. It fits when you have dependants and little other life cover. We sell insurance 3a where it fits, and we tell you when it does not.
1:15 When you pay in
The second: when you pay in. For this year's deduction, the money must be in by 31 December. A skipped year is, with one narrow exception, a year lost. And the deduction pays off most in a high-income year.
1:33 More than one account
The third: how many accounts. Withdrawal tax rises with the amount you take out in one year. So hold three to five accounts, and draw them in different tax years. CHF 250,000 in Zürich, withdrawn at once: roughly 22,000 in tax. As five withdrawals of 50,000 over five years: roughly 11,000. You cannot split one account later, and most clients we meet have one, sometimes two.
2:08 How much you may pay in
How much may you pay in? For 2026: up to CHF 7,258 if you are employed with a pension fund. Self-employed without one: 20% of net income, up to 36,288. The cap counts across all your 3a accounts together.
2:31 Can expats open a 3a?
Can you open one as an expat? Yes, if you earn income in Switzerland that pays AHV contributions, whatever your nationality or permit. Then pick the app you like using, and stop optimising there. We do not recommend one over another.
2:49 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.
