A job change, a period of part-time work, a late arrival in Switzerland: all create occupational pension gaps that can be bought back and are tax-deductible.
Each year your pension fund calculates the theoretical retirement assets you should have accumulated based on your salary and career. If your actual assets are below this theoretical amount, often the case after part-time work, a career break, or a late arrival in the Swiss system, a contribution gap exists, shown each year on your pension certificate.
Tax watch-out: if you make a lump-sum withdrawal from your 2nd pillar (for example to buy property) after a buy-back, a lock-in of several years generally applies before you can withdraw the bought-back amounts, on pain of the tax deduction being called into question.
Both levers are deductible, but their logic differs: the LPP buy-back is generally more tax-effective for high incomes (as it has no fixed legal cap, unlike the 3a), while the 3rd pillar offers more flexibility and simpler access to capital depending on the circumstances. A combined analysis of the two optimises the total deduction over several years rather than concentrating everything on a single lever in one year.
We analyse your pension certificate and your overall tax situation to determine whether an LPP buy-back, a 3rd pillar payment, or a combination of the two is most advantageous for you this year.
Yes, the buy-back isn't limited to a single payment; you can spread buy-backs across several tax years according to your capacity and your optimisation strategy.
It depends on your income and situation: for high earners who have already maximised their 3a, the LPP buy-back often offers higher deduction potential, with no fixed legal cap comparable to the 3a.
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