Joining PUBLICA

You can find your contact under “Contact” or under your pension plan and employer. 

You will receive a welcome letter from PUBLICA and a QR invoice that you must send to your previous pension provider or vested benefits institution so that they can transfer your or vested benefits to PUBLICA. You will receive a confirmation as soon as the money reaches PUBLICA.

You should also check whether you have any assets with another pension provider or vested benefits institution. If you do, these can also be transferred to PUBLICA so that all of your retirement savings are in the same pension fund

You will receive your first pension certificate after joining the Swiss Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA as soon as we take receipt of your existing retirement assets or after 45 days at the latest. After that, you will receive a pension certificate every year.

You will also receive a pension certificate whenever you carry out a transaction with PUBLICA – a buy-in, an early withdrawal to buy a home or repayment of an early withdrawal, for instance. A new pension certificate is also issued when your personal circumstances change, for example if you get divorced. 

You can view your personal pension details at any time in the active member portal myPublica.

Yes. You must do so while both partners are alive. See “Life partnership” for more information.

You can make additional payments on top of your normal savings contributions. These are deducted from your salary automatically every month. The amount of the savings contributions is set out in the pension plan regulations. Let your employer know which savings contributions you would like to pay.

In principle, yes. You may make buy-ins up to the limits set out in federal law and the regulations. The key factors governing the amount of the buy-in are your age and insured salary at the time of the buy-in. You are free to choose the amount of your first buy-in – up to the maximum amount – if it is made within 90 days of joining. After 90 days, a minimum amount applies, as set out in the pension plan regulations. You can find these here. If you are interested in a buy-in, you can simulate it online in the active member portal myPublica and then transfer the amount directly into your pension account.