Early or late retirement across the three pillars

As I cannot push off retirement planning* too much longer anymore :grimacing:, I was looking for an overview on what early / late options exist across the three pillars. The closest I could find was this thread so I decided to make a humble attempt at compiling a table myself. Not perfect for sure, volunteering to edit with any much-encouraged additions / corrections posted here.

*there doesn’t seem to be such a forum category so posted it here

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This is an abridged summary only, have included links to more exhaustive pages, mostly from the other thread.

Non-age-specific withdrawals (real estate financing, leaving CH etc.) not shown.

Note the “Standard retirement age”:

  • For women born prior to 1961: 64
  • For women born 1961-1969 see table here
  • For everyone else: 65
Type Criteria 1 (AHV / AVS) 2 (Pension fund) 2 (VBA / FZK) 3a
Pension vs. capital withdrawal Pension only Pension and / or withdrawal Withdrawal only Withdrawal only
Early pension / early withdrawal Age range 63; 62 for women born 1961-1969 58-65(*) (usually) 60-65(*) (usually) 60-65(*)
Conditions 20%-80%, or 100% of total claim dependent on pension fund
Penalty – prior to standard age During early payment period: 1 year early: 6.8%; 2 years early: 13.6%; details here (section 4). dependent on pension fund (foregone tax-free investment returns) (foregone tax-free investment returns)
Penalty – from standard age Early payments taken into account when final pension is calculated dependent on pension fund n/a n/a
Other considerations Income and wealth tax obligations pulled forward; OASI contribution obligation continues prior to reaching standard age unless no CH residency. Income or wealth / withdrawal tax obligations pulled forward Wealth / withdrawal tax obligations pulled forward Wealth / withdrawal tax obligations pulled forward
Late pension / late withdrawal Age range 66-70(*) 65-70(*) (usually) 65-70(*) (usually) 65-70(*)
Conditions Deferral portion 20%-80%, or 100% of total claim. dependent on pension fund Only possible if withdrawals made prior to 1.1.2030, or if still employed Only possible if still employed
Compensation See AHV late drawdown table below dependent on pension fund (additional tax-free investment returns) (additional tax-free investment returns)
Other considerations Income and wealth tax obligations deferred. If still employed, OASI contribution obligation continues. Income or wealth / withdrawal tax obligations deferred Wealth / withdrawal tax obligations deferred Wealth / withdrawal tax obligations deferred

(*) based on standard age = 65 years

AHV late drawdown (deferral in years) Compensation in %
1 5.2
2 10.8
3 17.1
4 24.0
5 31.5
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