The distinction between 3a and 3b is not a commercial one, it is a legal one. Pillar 3a — tied pension provision — is defined by a federal ordinance, the BVV 3 (OPP 3 in French), made under the federal law on occupational pensions (BVG/LPP). Everything that falls outside that framework is 3b, flexible pension provision.
Two recognised forms, and only two
The BVV 3/OPP 3 recognises only two forms of tied pension provision: a tied pension policy taken out with an insurance institution, and a tied pension agreement concluded with a bank foundation. The funds must be devoted exclusively and irrevocably to pension provision.
That word “irrevocably” is the heart of the matter. It is what justifies the tax advantage, and it is what explains every constraint that follows.
How much you can pay in
The lasting rule, the one that does not change from year to year, is in the ordinance: a person who belongs to a pension fund can deduct up to 8% of the upper limit set by the BVG/LPP; a person who does not can deduct up to 20% of their income from gainful employment, but no more than 40% of that same limit.
Converted into francs for 2026, these ceilings come to CHF 7'258 for a person who belongs to a pension fund, and CHF 36'288 for a person who does not. They are the same as in 2025 and move only when the BVG/LPP limit is adjusted.
Retroactive buy-ins, possible only recently
An amendment to the BVV 3/OPP 3 dated 6 November 2024, in force since 1 January 2025, makes it possible to make up retroactively for years in which the maximum contribution was not reached, going back up to ten years.
The mechanism is regulated. You must have been entitled to contribute in the years concerned, have paid the maximum contribution for the current year, and the buy-in cannot exceed 8% of the upper BVG/LPP limit. Several gap years can be filled, but each one only once.
Tax, and what cannot be generalised
Pillar 3a contributions are deductible from taxable income within the limits above. For the life of the contract, the capital is not subject to wealth tax and the returns are not taxed as income.
On withdrawal, the capital is taxed separately from other income, as a capital benefit. For direct federal tax, the law sets a rate equal to one fifth of the ordinary scale.
In pillar 3b, contributions are not deductible, the savings in principle form part of taxable wealth, and how returns are treated depends on the nature of the product. Certain single-premium capital insurance policies with a surrender value are exempt when age and duration conditions are met.
When you can withdraw pillar 3a
The normal case is set out in the ordinance: retirement benefits can be paid at the earliest five years before the reference age, fall due at that age, and payment can be deferred by up to five years if gainful employment continues.
The ordinance also provides for cases of early withdrawal, in particular:
- buying or building a home for your own use, acquiring interests in home ownership for your own use, or repaying a mortgage loan — such a withdrawal can only be requested every five years;
- starting self-employment, or changing to a different self-employed activity;
- moving away from Switzerland permanently;
- receiving a full invalidity pension (IV/AI), where the risk is not insured.
In several of these cases the written consent of the spouse or registered partner is required. The capital can also be used for a buy-in to a tax-exempt pension institution, or transferred to another recognised form of tied pension provision.
On death: the big difference
This is the least known and most important point. For pillar 3a, the order of beneficiaries is set by the ordinance itself, not by the account holder. First comes the surviving spouse or registered partner. Next come direct descendants, together with people whom the deceased supported to a substantial extent, or the person who lived with them in an uninterrupted partnership for at least the five years immediately before the death, or the person who has to support children they had together. Then the parents, then the brothers and sisters, then the other heirs.
The holder has limited room for manoeuvre: they can decide who, within the second group, is a beneficiary and in what proportions, and they can change the order of the last three groups. They cannot exclude the first.
Pillar 3b has no such statutory cascade: it follows the beneficiary clause of the insurance contract and, failing that, the ordinary rules of inheritance law and matrimonial property law. That is why 3b is sometimes used in family situations that the 3a order does not reflect.
Pillar 3a with a bank or with an insurer
The two recognised forms are different in nature. An agreement with a bank foundation is a savings contract: you pay in what you want, when you want, up to the ceiling. A contract with an insurer is a policy, with agreed premiums, and it may include cover in the event of death or disability.
So the choice is not between a good product and a bad one, but between two different things: savings on one side, and on the other, savings combined with risk cover and a commitment to pay premiums.
What depends on you
Neither pillar is better in absolute terms. Pillar 3a offers a tax advantage in exchange for locked-in funds and an imposed order of beneficiaries. Pillar 3b offers freedom without that advantage. Which one suits you depends on your time horizon, your family situation, your canton, and what you are trying to protect.
The amounts given here are those for 2026. The pillar 3a ceilings follow the upper BVG/LPP limit and are therefore adjusted at the same time as it.