If you leave your employer before you become eligible for benefits, your vested benefits are transferred to your new employer’s pension fund. If you don’t have a new employer, the vested benefits will be deposited in a vested benefits account in your name. The account will be fully secure and earn interest at a higher rate than a typical savings account. You will receive the benefits when you reach the legal retirement age, or up to five years before or after the legal retirement age.
A vested benefits account is designed for three main situations:
- You temporarily leave your job and no longer pay into a Swiss occupational pension fund: your pension assets will keep earning interest until you sign up with a new fund.
- You start a new job but your new employer's pension fund does not accept all of your vested pension benefits.
- You decide to become self-employed but don't want to tap into your retirement savings right away.