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Buy-in

A pension fund buy-in can increase your benefits, allowing you to enjoy greater financial security in retirement and reduce your tax bill at the same time. You can carry out a buy-in directly in the active member portal myPublica.
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What is a pension fund buy-in?

A buy-in is a way to increase your personal savings with PUBLICA and improve your retirement benefits. It is also tax-deductible. Even if you have paid into pillar 3a, buy-ins are still possible.

Buying in when you join PUBLICA

When you join the Swiss Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA, you are free to choose your own buy-in amount – up to the maximum – for the first 90 days. After that, a minimum of CHF 2,000 applies. You can see your buy-in potential and carry out a buy-in directly in the active member portal myPublica.

Check your buy-in potential and fill the gap

Check the amount of your buy-in potential – if any – in myPublica or on your pension certificate. In simple terms, your buy-in potential is the difference between the maximum possible pension assets and your current pension assets.

Buy-in restrictions

If you have made an early withdrawal to buy a home, you need to pay this back first before you can carry out a buy-in. Replacement buy-ins following a divorce can be made at any time, up to the amount transferred under the divorce settlement. You can find more information on statutory benefits in your pension plan’s regulations.

Four reasons for a buy-in

1. A higher pension for your retirement
2. Higher benefits in the event of disability or death
3. Pay in more than with a private pension
4. Tax benefits thanks to voluntary pension contributions

Important things to bear in mind in relation to buy-ins

  • You can only carry out a buy-in if you have a buy-in potential. This is often the case when you increase your working hours, change jobs, come back to Switzerland from abroad or get a pay rise.
     
  • If you have withdrawn some of your pension assets to buy a home, this money has to be paid back before you can carry out a buy-in.
     
  • Some pension plans specify a minimum buy-in amount in their regulations. You can also see this in myPublica.

Also worth knowing

To ensure that your buy-in is deductible from your taxes for the current year, you should transfer the amount by mid-December at the latest. The law does not allow us to issue tax certificates backdated to the previous year for payments made after the end of the year. You must also bear in mind that your buy-in will not qualify as tax-deductible if you draw a lump sum or make an early withdrawal within three years.

More topics of interest

Buying a home

Find out here about the options open to you for making your dream of owning a home come true.

Your pension certificate

Learn how to read your pension certificate and understand the key information in it here.

Voluntary savings contributions

Monthly voluntary savings contributions also increase your retirement assets. Find out what you need to do here.