Pillar 3a comparison 2026:
The best 3a providers in the test
Who at a young age wrong pillar 3a choice can quickly lose tens of thousands of francs by the time they retire. Yes, you read that right.
Last year, the Swiss market gained a new digital pillar 3a and lost an old one, and the most favourable providers now only differ by a few hundredths. Nevertheless, the choice will determine four- to five-figure sums for decades.
As of summer 2026 we have compared all relevant digital pillar 3a providers. With Real money tests and the weaknesses that are not in any brochure.
We don't rate according to fees alone. But according to what is really worthwhile in the long term.
So let's start with an overview!
Hello,
As a person with a B permit, I honestly don't see any advantage in investing in pillar 3a - or am I wrong?
As far as I understand it, you can't file a regular tax return with a B permit unless you earn over CHF 120,000.
Without a tax return, however, you cannot deduct the payment into the 3a from your taxable income, which is actually the main advantage of this pillar.
And what particularly bothers me is that the credit balance is still taxed when it is later withdrawn - as a so-called capital benefit (approx. 5-10 % depending on the canton).
In concrete terms, this means
The money has already been fully taxed once (because no 3a deduction was possible),
and has to pay taxes again later when he receives it.
This feels like a kind of "double taxation" to me
Or have I overlooked something?
Hello Helena,
You are absolutely right! Or rather, it depends: Income level, canton, etc. play a role in the decision.
However, pillar 3a is not worthwhile across the board and especially not always for foreigners.
Pillar 3a + voluntary tax return for B permits can be a very expensive mistake, which I made myself - and my tax advisor at the time let me walk straight into it.
So that this doesn't happen to you and others: Here is a Important contribution for all foreigners with a B permit.
Hello, Eric,
but as a cross-border commuter with a B permit (e.g. residence in Switzerland with gainful employment in FL) you can deduct the 3a again, right?
Best regards, Chai
Hello Chai,
Yes, but you should pay attention to the details - whether it's worth filling in the tax return / using 3a voluntarily at all. More here.
Hello Eric
Could providers such as PostFinance be of interest in the 3a pillar comparison as they have no fees, or am I making a mistake?
Hello David,
For long-term investors in pillar 3a, PostFinance is not an optimal choice despite the free basic account. The total costs (for the funds etc.) of 0.9-1.4% p.a. are significantly higher than with digital providers such as finpension, frankly or Viac, for example, which allow almost 100% equity exposure with only 0.4-0.5% fees. In the long term, this difference amounts to several tens of thousands of francs.
Hello dear Eric,
Thank you for your good content.
I read your newsletter today with the 4Profi 3a tips.
I have a very important comment here regarding timing, from an experience I have had myself:
I always paid in the full amount at the beginning of the year for 3 years.
As a result, it took just as long to bring the negative performance back into positive territory. (Corona 2020, Ukraine war etc. were decisive factors here)
Accordingly, I would recommend paying in monthly for investments over 40-50% to even out the fluctuations.
For a bank without an investment, the strategy can make perfect sense.
Hello Marcel
Thank you very much for your valuable advice! In my Newsletter I had recommended paying in the full 3a contribution at the beginning of January if possible, in order to make the most of the interest earned during the year and the compound interest effect.
However, you are absolutely right that in times of market uncertainty a staggered deposit can be useful to reduce the timing risk.
With pillar 3a, as with equity investments in general, you should always plan with a long-term investment horizon anyway. Over many years or decades, short-term market fluctuations tend to even out, which mitigates the timing effect somewhat.
Thank you for sharing this important perspective with us!
Kind regards
Eric
What strategy should you choose if you are already 42 years old? My child is grown up and has completed her education. I am divorced and working. No home ownership.
High risk, with a high equity component?
Hello Nadja
the 3a tools support you with this question when you open the account.
I can't give you any advice here, you need more information.
But in general: you should only choose a 100% equity strategy if you don't need the money +10. In the 3a, it doesn't always have to be retirement; after all, early withdrawal is also possible.
The easiest way to do this is to use the support provided by your 3a solution, where you will be asked a few questions during onboarding and then receive an investment proposal.
Hi Eric
I am 57 and have four accounts with VIAC. Two of them have a share allocation of 100% and two have an allocation of 80%. I plan to withdraw funds in stages from the age of 60 until I reach normal retirement age at 65. The question now is whether I should reduce my share allocation.
Hello Vinzenz,
Thank you for your interesting question. I cannot answer it directly, as that would constitute investment advice. What I would do personally is reduce the risk gradually and with sufficient foresight, i.e. lower the proportion of shares. Even if the money is subsequently invested elsewhere (from retirement age onwards), a sale must still take place in the 3a account, which is why I would personally reduce the risk gradually each year.
But that may not always be the best option. After all, there could still be significant performance gains in those years, and we will only know in hindsight what the best strategy was. The safest option is definitely to reduce the risk in advance. Does that help?
Hi,
Is it also possible to invest completely individually in ETFs or index funds? In other words, I don't just want to choose a "strategy", but also decide which product I want to invest in each month, for example?
Are there providers for this and is it even permitted (state regulation)?
Thanks!
Hello Elisabeth
Some providers allow the strategy to be customised. However, there are of course severe restrictions here and it is not possible to choose completely freely. In my opinion, this is a good thing for most people 🙂
You are only completely free in "3b", i.e. in free assets
Hi Eric, when you write that it makes sense to choose different 3a providers, I think it's easy to decide which one to choose. One account each with Finpensio, Frankly, Viac, TrueWealth and a 5th and possibly 6th of your choice. Perhaps an insurance solution could also be considered. Have I got that right?
Greetings Michel
Hello Michel,
under no circumstances! I wouldn't recommend an insurance solution in the 3a. If you need insurance, it's better to take it out in the free area, then you'll be flexible and can cancel it when you no longer need it.
Hoi Eric,
I have a quick question about Yuh. There is also a pillar 3a solution with fees of 0.5% per year. There are also 5 risk levels, whereby the one with 99% shares makes the most sense in my opinion. As I have my account with Yuh, I find the solution quite practical and the fees are comparable. Have you looked into it? Are there any disadvantages?
Thank you and best regards Matthias
Hello Matthias,
If you are already with Yuh, that is of course a great advantage.
The fees could be lower, but they are fair. Overall, the solution is exciting, but there are also Yuh 3a disadvantages:
Currency hedging cannot be cancelled and must therefore always be paid for. If you don't want to invest sustainably, you can't switch it off either. And the strategies are unfortunately not customisable - if that is desired at all.
Dear Eric, does it make sense to make a 3a WEF advance withdrawal even though I don't need it? I could already make a staggered withdrawal.
Kind regards
Hello Walmona,
Do you mean in the 5 years before the ordinary pension? Depending on your tax situation, this definitely makes sense as a rule. Here is a Article to that.
Before this deadline, early withdrawals are only possible under certain circumstances (e.g. owning a home, self-employment, leaving Switzerland) and these are also closely scrutinised.
Hello, Eric,
I would like to know if you can make a declaration on taxation at retirement age? I thought capital gains from ETFs are tax-free in Switzerland, why do you have to pay tax on them when you retire?
Is it not also more sensible to take out a global ETF savings plan via a broker in order to access the capital invested at any time? (As far as I know, capital gains are also tax-free here & the fees can be lower than with e.g. Frankly pillar 3a)
Hello Pascal! In principle, capital gains from ETFs are tax-free in Switzerland as long as you hold them as part of your private assets. However, the situation is different when paying out pillar 3a, in which ETFs can also be invested. In this case, it is not the capital gain that is taxed, but the entire capital saved, as it is considered pension capital.
A global ETF savings plan via a broker naturally offers you more flexibility, as you can access the capital at any time. The tax treatment and fee structure can indeed be more favourable here. However, the tax advantages of pillar 3a are not available.
In my opinion, Frankly was and is a pioneer in online 3a solutions. Simple and clear. Above all, it's good for the vast majority of users that you don't have an infinite number of options and settings, as this can quickly become overwhelming. The performance is also good. So with frankly you can regularly deposit a chunk and sleep well. Time will do the rest. What more could you want?
Oh, maybe a starting discount...? With this code, frankly is currently offering us a few francs.
Hello Eric
Thank you very much for the free guidebook.
I was cheated again until I had no more money.
The Luzerner Kantonalbank blocked me and made sure that I received a guardianship from the Kesb.
I got a good man who pays all my bills with my AHV pension.
Kind regards from Leo
I'm glad that you got good support, Leo!
All the best for the future!
Hello everybody
About 3 years ago I was persuaded by an adviser to take out my 3a with Pax. I have been paying in full since then. Since I've been looking more closely at my finances recently, I can't find the information I need to find out whether this was the right decision...
Can you please help me with this???
Hello Daniel,
if it is a 3a policy in the form of a mixed life insurance policy, you will find here a contribution to that.
And here is another comparison 3a policy vs. account vs. custody account.
Congratulations Eric on your great site. I've already learnt a lot there.
I use 3a from True Wealth and am very satisfied. The app is also very user-friendly and clearly organised. I also find it perfect that it is automatically divided into 5 accounts without me having to worry about it.
I also use True Wealth for my "free" investments (and also for my wife and the children's portfolios). I'm also very happy with this and think it's great that the strategy for 3a and free assets is identical.
If you want to benefit from only 0.25% asset management fee for 1 year (save 44%) you are welcome to use the link when opening!
Hello Eric
First of all, a big compliment and thank you for your homepage and the comprehensible financial reports. 😃
My question: I am considering opening a 3a account with TW. In your table you state that the minimum investment amount is CHF 1. On the TW homepage, however, it says that the minimum deposit is CHF 1000. What applies now or am I confusing something?
Greetings Stefan
Hello Stefan
Thank you very much for your good feedback!
And thank you very much for pointing this out - True Wealth has probably adjusted it! Initially it was CHF 1, but now I can confirm that it has risen to CHF 1000 for pillar 3a.
Presumably because otherwise the costs would be too high for them in percentage terms.
I have adjusted the post, thanks to your info 🙂
Dear greetings
Eric
Good day
I wanted to ask what your opinion is on Yuh's 3a pillar
With kind regards
Raphael
Hello Raphael
Thank you for your question. A post on this is already planned 🙂 Kind regards
Eric
Dear Eric
Thank you very much for your great work! I always consult your site with great benefit before making my financial decisions. Right now I'm in the process of opening another 3a pillar. Although it will still be around 10 years before I start liquidating the pillars, I would be interested to know not only the running costs but also the fees that will be incurred on withdrawal. For older people like me, this would also be a decision criterion that could be useful in your overview.
Best regards
Dear Franziska,
Thank you very much for your positive feedback! I'm particularly pleased to receive news like this 🙂
Regarding your question: I am not aware of any fees that are due for the regular liquidation of pillar 3a custody accounts. The situation is different for early withdrawals for home ownership promotion; you can find information on this in the table above.
If your question was also about taxes, these depend largely on your income. Accordingly, you should make the withdrawal in stages, as described here.
Best regards and see you soon,
Eric
Have a few codes here for VIAC to manage the first CHF 1000 free of charge:
eqEonJ
rs7GZ91
ECnBWBF
I read an analysis on true wealth 3a at thepoorswiss. In fact, the asset allocation of a 99% equity strategy does not seem optimal to me. Too much Europe, too little USA, etc. Stamp duty on ETFs and dividend withholding
What do you think about these points?
Thomas
Hello, Thomas,
Thank you very much for your input and the advice.
This is where opinions differ! I cannot go into this sufficiently in a commentary, but this much can be said:
If you take the last 20 years and compare the net return of the SPI vs. the S&P500, at first glance the US index wins. But not if you look correctly and take into account the currency loss, because the dollar lost value against the franc. In net and currency-adjusted terms, the SPI did better for us Swiss.
There are TOP economists who deliberately focus on Switzerland and there are TOP economists who nevertheless strongly overweight international stocks. We only know what the past has brought, but not 100%ig what the future will bring. I am therefore reluctant to go out on a limb...
I hope this helps you a little?
Kind regards
Eric
Well explained 🙂
Greetings Eric
Thank you for your interesting tips on pillar 3a. I have learned a lot, even though I have had a Pillar 3a account for over 10 years. (I've been with Frankly for just under 1.5 years).
But what I don't understand is the WEF (
Home ownership promotion).
What is it exactly, what do I need it for?
With some providers this is free, with others between 250-400chf.
Is free good or bad?
How should I understand this?
Thank you
Dear Andre
thank you for your positive message 🙂
A WEF is only relevant for you if you want to promote home ownership with pension assets.
You can use money from your pension fund (2nd pillar) or from pillar 3a for owner-occupied residential property.
Since we are talking about 3a in this post:
The various 3a providers usually charge fees for such an advance withdrawal. So "free" is good, here the fees are more or less already paid and included in the all-in-fee.
If you plan to make several early withdrawals from pillar 3a, you should of course take any fees into account.
Love!
Eric
Hello, Eric,
When you write "Build up your 3a assets in several 3a pots in order to be able to draw on the individual pillars in stages later on" do you mean in parallel, i.e. pay in e.g. 2000.00 per year at the same time or one after the other as soon as an amount of e.g. 30,000.00 is reached?
Many thanks and big compliments to this blog and the many explanations and tips!
Dear greetings, Iris
Hello Iris,
Thank you very much for your great feedback 🙂 I am very happy about that.
There are different strategies to fill your 3a pots. The most common is to open successive pots (e.g. open a new pot every CHF 30,000).
However, you can also, for example, open several pots from the beginning (e.g. 5 pots) and use these Parallel by standing order fill. Although this involves more work, it also has advantages depending on the investment objective, as described above.
As described, it can also be advantageous to spread your Pillar 3a pots over several providers and thus investment foundations (e.g. Frankly, Finpension, Viac, ...).
There are many different ways to reach the desired goal. The question is simply what your goal is, what is best suited for it and what effort you are willing to put into it.
Regardless of whether you are saving for a WEF or for a regular retirement in pillar 3a, it is essential to build up several pots in order to be able to approach the withdrawal intelligently from a tax perspective later on, and draw staggered to be able
Best wishes and good luck 🙂
Eric