How to save well for your old age

From 30

Create a budget plan

If you know all of your income and outgoings, you can better assess how much money you have left for your pension – and identify any potential savings. Ideally, you should set aside 10% to 20% of your gross income per year. However, regular smaller amounts also improve your pension.

Pay into pillar 3a

The assets saved and interest earned supplement the OASI and occupational pension plan you pay into. It helps to ensure that you maintain your standard of living in old age. If you invest CHF 100 every month from the age of 30, you will have saved up assets of CHF 108,384 by the time you reach 65 (assuming an annual return of 5%). Only CHF 42,000 of this would be generated by actual payments, as everything else would come from the compound interest effect.

Tip: 3a funds offer better potential returns than 3a accounts. The money paid into such funds is invested in securities such as shares or bonds. Depending on the strategy, returns of 5% or more per year are possible.

From 40

Increase the amount you save

If it is financially feasible, contributions to pillar 3a should be increased – preferably to the maximum annual amount (for 2025: CHF 7,258). Positive side effect: each contribution reduces your tax burden.

Check your OASI contributions

If you do not pay in every year or pay in too little, you risk contribution gaps and thus a reduction in your pension. You should therefore review your OASI contributions every few years – especially after having taken a longer break from working or having spent a number of years abroad. To do this, you will need to order a statement of your individual account from the OASI. Gaps that have arisen in the last five years can be paid in arrears.

Check your pension fund

When changing jobs, it is essential that you check the quality of your future pension fund. Depending on the employer, there may be major differences in benefits, for example in the size of the contributions, the risk benefits, the insured salary or the interest rates. This will also have an impact on your financial situation in your old age.

From 50

Make purchases into your pension fund

You should regularly review the retirement assets you have saved in your pension fund. This figure is recorded on the pension certificate that is distributed every year. Gaps in cover – due to rising wages, for example – can be closed with voluntary purchases. The size of the purchases may depend on the size of the gap and is also stated in the statement.

Make use of advisory services

It will slowly become time to start planning your retirement, preferably with the help of a specialist. The specialist will calculate how high the benefits from the AHV, pension fund and pillar 3a will be and the amount of free assets available. The time until your retirement can then be used to close any pension gaps and optimise your financial situation.

From 55

Adjust your pillar 3a

If you have invested your pension assets in 3a funds, you should reduce the equity component shortly before retirement. The reason for this is the shortening investment horizon. This means that retirement capital is less well protected against strong fluctuations on the equity market.

Determine your retirement strategy

Which option is the right one for you? Early retirement, a pension deferral or ordinary retirement at 65? This also depends on your financial situation. A financial planning specialist, for example from Migros Bank, will help you to analyse your situation and make suggestions for the best way to get your retirement off to a good start.

Tip: In most cases, pension fund assets can also be withdrawn as a lump sum instead of a pension. Depending on the pension fund, you may need to notify them of your intention to do so three years in advance – please make sure to clarify this in good time!

Adapt your lifestyle

With the knowledge of how much money is likely to be available upon your retirement, you should adapt your current lifestyle to your future income and reduce unnecessary expenses or hidden costs. Owners of residential property should have the affordability of the property in old age reviewed and reduce the mortgage, if necessary.