Cantonal guides & comparatives
Funds, foundations, taxation by canton.
LPP withdrawal tax by canton: the gap map.
The canton that taxes your LPP withdrawal is the foundation's, not yours. The gap between cantons goes from one to three. Here is the scales map and the optimization strategy.
Withdrawing your LPP to go self-employed: conditions and procedure.
Starting a self-employed activity in Switzerland lets you withdraw your full 2nd pillar — under strict conditions. Here are the rules, the procedure, and what to check beforehand.
Leaving Switzerland: withdrawing your 2nd pillar by destination country.
Withdrawing LPP on departure from Switzerland depends on where you settle. EU/EFTA and outside-EU are two very different regimes. The details, case by case.
LPP buy-backs: when it is worth it, when it is a trap.
The LPP buy-back is one of the rare tax optimizations accessible to employees in Switzerland. You still need to understand the mechanics, the deadlines, and the capital withdrawal trap.
EPL: withdrawing your 2nd pillar to buy your main residence.
Home Ownership Promotion (EPL/WEF) lets you unlock your LPP to buy, build, or repay. Here are the rules, age-based ceilings, taxation, and pitfalls.
Annuity or lump sum at retirement: how to choose.
At retirement, your 2nd pillar can be paid as a life annuity, lump sum, or a mix of both. Here are the arbitration factors: longevity, taxation, security, inheritance.
2nd pillar checklist after 50: 6 actions to prepare retirement.
Between 50 and 60, your 2nd pillar deserves a methodical audit. Six concrete actions to optimize your retirement, without spending years researching.
2nd pillar and divorce: how the split really works.
In a divorce, LPP assets accumulated during the marriage are split. Here is the mechanics of the split, the deadlines, the exceptions, and common pitfalls.
2nd pillar after death: who gets what, and in what order.
The 2nd pillar (LPP) does not follow ordinary inheritance rules. Beneficiaries set by law and fund rules, priority order, survivor pensions: here is how it works.
Preparing retirement at 60: why so many Swiss residents discover forgotten assets.
Between 58 and 64, many people finally take a full inventory of their 2nd pillar. That is often when a forgotten vested benefits account resurfaces. Why so late, and what to do with the recovered capital.
Early retirement: the triple LPP penalty no one anticipates.
Leaving at 62 rather than 65 costs much more than it seems. Triple LPP penalty: fewer contributions, less compounding, reduced conversion rate. The math, plainly.
Career mobility and LPP: the dispersion you do not see.
Changing employer, moving, taking a break: every transition can create a new LPP account. At 40, a typical career already has 2 to 4 potentially dispersed accounts. Why, and how to check.
Buying with your 2nd pillar: withdrawal or pledge, the real choice.
Home Ownership Promotion (EPL) offers two very different mechanisms: withdraw the capital or pledge it. The monthly payment is almost the same. But over 25 years, the gap on your future pension can reach CHF 200,000.
Vested benefits foundation fees: what to understand.
Not every vested benefits account has the same fee structure. Here is how to read them, and how to choose between an autonomous and a managed approach.