Choosing a 3a Pillar for Mortgage Approval in Basel: Seeking Advice

[unbtbt]

Thank you so much, @Cortana.

Your insights are incredibly helpful, and each of your responses clearly reflects your depth of experience and expertise.

I’m considering indirect amortization, but my first step will be to speak with VIAC/Finpension to determine which banks accept their 3a accounts and also support indirect amortization. As for the life insurance matter, my wife is dealing with that, and I’ve already started a discussion on the Mustachian Post forum.

Closing 3a & 3b life insurance (looking for a best way)

In the summary linked above I don’t see any changes impacting your wife’s situation. The obligation to disclose compensation received from insurance companies or other third parties is a first step towards more transparency, but unfortunately not enough. While potential prospects may flare the scam seeing large kickbacks, two digits compensation may not seem that high considering those contracts are often signed for 30+ years. Additionally, it does not bring more transparency to contracts sold…

I’ve read that passive funds are usually a better choice, so I’ll need to find suitable options.

The interest rates you mentioned are very appealing, suggesting that such rates are indeed achievable.

One question: I’ve noticed some speculation about mortgage interest rates decreasing in the upcoming year. What are your thoughts on this? My plan is to start with a SARON mortgage and switch to a fixed-rate mortgage when the interest rates drop.

One more question: Is opening five 3a accounts advisable for mortgage pledging/indirect amortization, or would it be better to just open a single account?

I appreciate the importance of negotiation and will definitely pursue that. I’m also considering consulting with HypoPlus, as they might offer better rates than I can find myself. I’ve already been in touch with a representative from HypoPlus, and their response seems fair. It appears they charge a fee if I accept their offer first and later decline it after they’ve put in significant effort, which is understandable

Die Aufwandsentschädigung tritt in Kraft, falls ich eine Offerte zu den vorab vereinbarten Konditionen erhalte.

Wir werden vorab alle Einzelheiten der möglichen Offerte besprechen.

Ich mache dir danach als Beispiel folgendes Angebot:

20 Jahre Festhypothek offeriert von der Bank XYXY zu einem Zinssatz von 10.00% oder besser.

Wirst du die Offerte unter diesen Rahmenbedingungen annehmen oder nicht?

Danach kannst du dich entscheiden, ob du das Angebot annimmst oder ob du schon ein besseres Angebot hast.

Falls du es annimmst und ich die Offerte zu den vereinbarten Konditionen erreiche und du dich danach gegen das Angebot entscheidest, wird die Aufwandsentschädigung in Rechnung gestellt.

Die Auskunftsvollmacht kann nicht angepasst werden.

[Daniel]

@PhilMongoose

Well since the deposit is 20% and the mortgage 80%, every saving of 1% in the mortgage would have to be matched by the equivalent of a 4% increase in bondlike return in the 3a to be at parity.

Correct. Pillar 3a returns are secondary to getting a low mortgatge interest rate. You should always first compare mortgage rates, then compare the pillar 3a options from the cheapest mortgage lenders (assuming you want to amortize indirectly).

But a 1% difference is unlikely. Currently, the difference between the most and least expensive advertised mortgage guide rates is 0.68% for 5-year FRMs, and 0.69% for 10-year FRMs.

If a mortgage costs, say, 0.10% to 0.20% more, then the returns you earn on the pillar 3a when you amortize a secondary mortgage can make a difference. In any case, it won’t hurt to do the math.

[Daniel]

@PhilMongoose

I’d also check the insurers such as BVK.CH

BVK is a pension fund. Swiss pension funds that offer mortgages often have very competitive interest rates for long-term FRMs (10 to 20 years). Some pension funds only offer mortgages to their participants (employees of companies that use their pension fund), while others offer mortgages to the general public.

If you get a mortgage from your own occupational pension fund, and you want to amortize indirectly, it is worth asking about indirect amortization using the pillar 2 with voluntary contributions.