Pillar 3a explained: limits, deadline and payout

What pillar 3a is

Switzerland's pension system has three pillars: the state AHV, the occupational pension fund through your employer, and private savings. Pillar 3a is the tied part of private savings. You pay into an account or policy with a bank or insurer, deduct the contributions from your income for federal, cantonal and communal tax, and the money is locked until one of the payout reasons below applies (BVV 3).

Only employees and self-employed people can contribute, so you need earned income. If both spouses or registered partners work, each can pay in and deduct the maximum for themselves (BVV 3 Art. 7(2)). You can keep contributing for up to five years after the AHV reference age (Art. 7(3)).

Contribution limits for 2026 and 2027

The limits are set as 8% and 40% of the upper limit in the occupational pension law (BVV 3 Art. 7(1)), so they move when that limit moves. The 2027 figures were announced on 5 October 2026 (federal notice; BSV FAQ). In the year you stop working, you can still pay the full amount (Art. 7(4)).

The 31 December deadline

A contribution counts for the tax year in which it is credited to your 3a account. Money that arrives on 2 January counts for the next year, and you can't catch up the old year with a normal payment. Banks and insurers often set their own cut-off a few days before year end, so check yours and pay early in December.

You don't have to pay the maximum, and you can spread payments across the year. Keep the certificate your provider sends in January; you need it for your tax return.

Buying in missed years

Since 1 January 2025 you can pay in contributions you missed, on top of the normal one (BVV 3 Art. 7a). The rules:

• You can fill gaps from the ten years before the buy-in, but only gaps from 2025 onward count. The first buy-in is possible in 2026 (BSV FAQ).
• In each gap year you must have been entitled to contribute, which means you had earned income in Switzerland.
• You must pay the full normal contribution for the buy-in year first.
• A buy-in can be at most 8% of the occupational pension upper limit, which is CHF 7,258 in 2026, however many years you are filling (BSV FAQ).
• Each gap year can be filled only once. Once you draw your 3a old-age benefit, no more buy-ins.

So for most people who started working here before 2025, the buy-in only matters for years from 2025 on.

When you can take the money out

The normal payout is from five years before the AHV reference age. Earlier withdrawals are allowed if you (BSV FAQ; BVV 3 Art. 3):

• receive a full disability pension,
• start self-employment or switch to a different self-employed activity,
• buy or build a home you live in, or repay its mortgage (possible every five years),
• leave Switzerland for good (see our leaving Switzerland checklist).

If you are married or in a registered partnership, your spouse or partner has to agree in writing (BVV 3 Art. 3(6)).

How the payout is taxed

The payout is taxed separately from your other income, in the year you receive it. The federal tax is one fifth of the ordinary tariff, with no social deductions (DBG Art. 38). Cantons have their own rates. Because the rate rises with the amount, some people hold several 3a accounts and withdraw them in different years; ask your cantonal tax office how it treats this.

If you pay withholding tax

The withholding tariff on your payslip doesn't include 3a. If you earn under CHF 120,000, you can request a subsequent ordinary assessment by 31 March of the following year to claim the deduction. Above that amount you are assessed ordinarily anyway. Our withholding tax guide has the details.

FAQ