Order of beneficiaries for 3a retirement provision

The balance of a pillar 3a account belongs to you and is transferred to the beneficiaries after your death. These retirement assets are subject not to inheritance law, but rather pension law. For the division of retirement assets, there is a separate regulation which differs from the usual inheritance rules with certificate of inheritance and will. This means that you can influence the order of beneficiaries.

By default, the following persons are beneficiaries of pillar 3 within the meaning of pension law:

1. The surviving spouse, or surviving registered partner;
2. Direct offspring;
   persons who received substantial support from the insured person;
   the person who lived together with the insured person continuously in the last five years prior to their death;
   persons who have to pay maintenance for one or more joint children.
3. Parents
4. Siblings
5. Other heirs

With the exception of section 1, which cannot be changed, you as the insured person can make the following changes to the order of beneficiaries:

• Section 2: You can appoint one or more beneficiaries and define their claims.
• Sections 3-5: You can change the order of the beneficiaries and list their claims.

Many people are not aware of the special treatment of retirement assets. This can lead to misunderstandings and disputes among the surviving dependants because many assume that the retirement assets are distributed in accordance with the agreed inheritance provisions (for example as set out in the will). For this reason, we recommend defining your succession planning, including the order of beneficiaries for your retirement assets, at an early stage. The form to amend the order of beneficiaries for your 3a retirement account with Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. can be found here.

Order of beneficiaries for vested benefit accounts

Pension savers of the vested benefits foundation (pillar 2) also have the opportunity to change the order of beneficiaries. However, other legal principles apply here that are governed separately. More information can be found in the form to change the order of beneficiaries for vested benefit accounts (pillar 2).

3a retirement savings with Bank CIC

Bank CIC not only offers competitive interest rates and attractive investment opportunities for your retirement provision, it also provides personal advice so that you can make well-informed decisions about your finances. Our experts can help you with any questions regarding the order of beneficiaries for your retirement accounts and assist you through the whole process.

Do you have any general questions about your retirement provision? We can also support you in optimising your savings and investments, taking account of your general financial situation and long-term objectives.