As an employee aged 25 or older with annual earnings of CHF 21,510 or more, you will be saving for your pension on a monthly basis. You can follow the process "live" on your payslip: you and your employer pay at least equal contributions to your company's pension fund, where your personal pension assets are managed. But what happens to this capital if you leave the company and with it your current pension fund?

If you start a new job straight away, the cash will be transferred to your new employer's pension scheme. But there are many situations in which there is no such seamless transition. You might not find the right job straight away, you might have to take a lengthy break for health or financial reasons, you might decide to go on a training course or take maternity leave or you might simply be fortunate enough to be able to afford to take some time off. However different these various situations may appear to be, you're sure to have one key need: your pension assets should be "parked" somewhere safe and should continue to be managed reliably and profitably. This is where the vested benefits account comes in. It's an account you can have the capital you've saved so far transferred to. In a vested benefits account, neither your capital nor the interest and investment income it earns are subject to direct federal, cantonal or municipal taxes.

Open a vested benefits account online

You can open an account with the Swisscanto Vested Benefits Foundation entirely online; there's no longer any need to send in the documents and signed applications by post. Thanks to electronic signatures, you even have the option of handling all communications from the comfort of your own home .

Why a vested benefits account?

The money paid into the pension fund so far is expressly intended for your retirement provision. You can only withdraw it before you retire under certain very specific conditions: for example to finance the purchase of a home of your own or if you become self-employed. For this reason, you are actually required by law to set up a vested benefits account if your employment is interrupted: your LOB capital must be ring-fenced for its original purpose.

Can I continue to pay in contributions?

The purpose of a vested benefits account is to safeguard your capital and invest it profitably until it is transferred to a new pension fund or paid out. You cannot pay in any additional contributions, apart from repayments of advance withdrawals undertaken for home ownership purposes.

Once you take a new job and join a new pension scheme, you will be able to make voluntary purchases of benefits in the new scheme to avoid gaps in your contribution record.

How is my capital protected?

The Swisscanto Vested Benefits Foundation is a joint venture of ten cantonal banks. When you open an account, you are free to choose which partner cantonal bank you would like to deposit your assets with. All are covered by a so-called state guarantee. This means that in the unlikely event of the bank being unable to meet its obligations, the canton will step in within the framework of the arrangements laid down for this eventuality.

Room for manoeuvre within the scope of your possibilities

While your pension assets are held in a vested benefits account, you have the option of saving in securities, provided you are a Swiss resident. This allows you to have a say in how your assets are invested. It also opens up opportunities for higher returns, although you are also exposed to a certain amount of investment risk. Whether this instrument is suitable for you depends on your individual financial circumstances as well as on your risk capacity and risk tolerance. Your cantonal bank's pension advisor will carry out a risk analysis with you to clarify this. Obviously, these investments too are subject to strict legal rules to ensure the safety of your capital.

With the Swisscanto Vested Benefits Foundation, if you opt for securities savings you have a choice of various different investment groups and with some cantonal banks the choice even extends to their own pension funds. This allows you to decide for yourself which risk profile suits you best and which asset classes you prefer, if any. Worth knowing: Swisscanto places a special focus on the sustainability of investments.

What happens when I reach retirement age?

If your vested benefits account remains open until you reach OASI retirement age, the full balance of your holdings will be paid out to you including interest. If you so wish, your assets can be paid out sooner: five years before ordinary retirement at the earliest. The Swisscanto Vested Benefits Foundation does not have any provision for the payment of a monthly pension.

Do you have any further questions? You can find quick, clearly structured answers in our Q&A on vested benefits accounts.