Hi,
I am looking for a strategy to minimize my capital withdrawal tax when I pull the plug and leave Switzerland, in roughly 2 years.
Info: We will be moving from CH to another country that allows cashing out pillar 2 in full. It also allows us to refund withholding tax deducted on pillar 2 only based on this table (not pillar 3a):
We are a married couple so taxed jointly. In essence, we will have to deal with two pillar 2s and two pillar 3s.
Pillar 3
Since we can’t claim back the withholding tax based on the country we are moving to and we are living in Zurich, our best strategy is to:
- Move our pillar 3s to a Schwyz domiciled pension fund
- Make a staggered withdrawal to on pillar 3s, limit it to under 50k CHF per year then the tax rate is 1.4%
Finpension charges 250CHF on early withdrawal due to emigration.
To minimize cost, including asset management fee, I’m thinking of moving our pillar 3s to True Wealth (average TER 0.13%, domiciled in Zurich) while we are still in CH. When we leave, move the accounts to Finpension (TER 0.39%, domiciled in Schwyz).
Pillar 2
Since we should be able to claim back 100% of the WHT on pillar 2 withdrawal, it matters less where the provider is domiciled. What matters more is the TER, early account closing fee, and investment choices. We will be making voluntary purchases so our pillar 2 will be locked for 3 years after the last purchase.
So far, FinPension looks pretty good.
Per withdrawal with finpension for more than 1 year: 500 CHF
Account management fee: 0.2-0.49% depending on strategies
So our strategy is:
1 year of departure: withdraw one pillar 3a
2 years of departure: withdraw the second pillar 3a
3 years of departure: withdraw all pillar 2
Have I missed anything? Does this make sense?
Sources: