Pillar 3a: If you don't switch, you're giving away a fortune

Ideally, you should invest your assets in the third pillar where they will grow the most. With securities, you can expect a higher return in the long term than with an interest-bearing account – especially with the current minuscule interest rates of 0.27 percent, as an evaluation by moneyland.ch shows. However, when investing in securities, make sure that the provider's fees do not immediately eat up a large part of the additional return.

For an investment with such a long-term horizon as retirement provision, there is therefore no question: securities should be your strategy of choice. We explain what is important.

Saving taxes: that's just the beginning

You can deduct payments into pillar 3a from your taxable income. Better yet, assets and income within pillar 3a are not taxed during the term. Even if you only pay into pillar 3a for tax reasons, this is an important step towards increasing your fortune. But are your assets growing as much as you deserve?

Optimal investment: securities in pillar 3a

If you opt for a strategy involving investments in securities, you can expect higher returns in the long term. However, this also involves a higher level of risk. Since the investment horizon for retirement assets is usually very long, fluctuations should not play too big a role.

Save on fees: with the right provider

Higher returns with securities – providers usually charge fees for this advantage. These costs reduce your returns and have a significant impact on your long-term investment success. Only invest in securities where the fees are low.

To get the best terms for your investment, you should compare the costs of account management, custody fees, external product costs (TER), transaction costs, and foreign currency surcharges. It is also important to know whether index funds exempt from withholding tax are used as instruments in 3a.

«True Wealth is the only place where you can get a 0.0% management fee on a 3a securities portfolio.»

Since the company was founded over ten years ago, low fees have been at the heart of True Wealth's offerings. The company is independent in its selection of investment instruments and chooses the ETFs and tax-optimized index funds with the lowest costs. Assets are managed passively, because back and forth trading empties pockets.

The best part: in pillar 3a, the management fee is 0.0 percent and the average external product costs are a minimal 0.14 percent.

The independent comparison portal Moneyland has compared the investment costs of all digital pension solutions. The simulation assumed an investment amount of CHF 60’000 over an investment horizon of ten years. Payments are made in monthly installments of CHF 500.

The bottom line is that 3a apps are on average cheaper than traditional pension funds. However, numerous digital providers also charge hefty fees.

3a apps: cost comparison 2025

The authors' conclusion: «The cheapest offer with a high equity component and a broadly diversified portfolio is True Wealth, with costs between CHF 424 and CHF 635.»

Although switching from an interest-bearing account to an investment solution or switching between investment solutions offers many advantages, according to the study «How much capital is in pillar 3a?» by the Federal Social Insurance Office, only 24 percent of pension assets are invested in securities portfolios. The other 76 percent are missing out on this opportunity. This does not include funds that are tied up in a combination of life insurance and pillar 3a. However, the market share of unit-linked life insurance policies in the overall 3a market is steadily declining. This is hardly surprising, as experts repeatedly advise against such solutions.

Transferring pillar 3a: easier than you think

If you have been paying too much with your current pillar 3a provider or have not invested in securities at all due to high costs, then you should know that transferring pillar 3a is easy and convenient – and can be done in just a few minutes. The change is:

• It's easier than with health insurance. There are no deadlines for cancellation. In short, you can switch to another provider at any time – and you can do so with a simple, informal letter.
• Easier than with payment transactions. If you change your checking account, you must inform your employer, set up new direct debits, and switch your e-bill procedures. None of this is necessary with the third pillar.

As you can see, switching pillar 3a is the easiest bank switch there is.

No time to read? Here's everything you need to know in this video.

True Wealth makes the transfer easy

True Wealth offers you an investment strategy for pillar 3a with securities at extremely low overall costs. The algorithm tailors an individual investment strategy for you, in which the proportion of stocks, bonds, and other asset classes is optimally diversified and precisely matched to your individual risk tolerance.

The app is available free of charge in the App Store and Google Play Store. Registration is completely digital and takes less than 10 minutes. No paperwork, no video call. All you need is a smartphone and an ID document. And if you want, you can try out the solution without real money first.

Switching is as easy as possible. No matter which provider you want to switch from, everything is prepared for termination and transfer. After opening your account, select «Transfer from external 3a» and all the necessary documents will automatically be available as PDF files.

It's that simple: your assets now have room to grow. You don't have to worry about anything except making the right decision. Because we believe that the first steps with True Wealth should be just as convenient and effective as the subsequent wealth management.

 -> Click here for True Wealth's pillar 3a.