Transfering 3a accounts from PF to Finpension/VIAC

Banks, Insurances & Third Pillar
1

Dear Mustachians,

I currently have two 3a accounts with PostFinance. All the money is now invested in several PF Retirement Funds.

I know now PF isn’t the best option but when I opened these accounts some years ago I didn’t know better.

The good news is that I’ve learnt a bit from you guys in these last months so in January I will open a 3a account with Finpension and will make my 2022 3a contribution there.

Regarding my current 3a accounts in PF:

I definitely won’t be making any more 3a contributions in PF but I don’t know what to do with the money I currently have in PF. Should I transfer to Finpension or Viac? Or should just leave it in PF? Note: I have no idea about the mechanics nor the cost of moving these money to another vendor (I will ask PF in January) but I’m sure it won’t be for free and I’m trying to figure out whether it is worth it.

Thanks for your thoughts!

2

I would transfer them as the TER difference is significant, in my opinion (and I also prefer the flexibility of Finpension/Viac). I transferred four 3a accounts from PF to Viac between 2017 and 2020 and it was always free, as far as I remember.

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3

Thanks for your answer Jay!
Am I right to assume that the PF funds must be sold and then the final amount of money is transferred to the new vendor?

4

Yes, the PF funds must be sold as the actual transfer is in CHF cash. However, you don’t have to do this yourself. PF will automatically sell the funds when you request the transfer.

The whole process took around 10 days for me. As the account will not be invested during that time (+ up to a week until Finpension/Viac invest it) there is a risk that you’re missing out on a market upswing. To mitigate this risk, I’d recommend transferring the two PF accounts separately, not at the same time.

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6

Looking at how long term is the 3rd pillar, I’m not sure that missing 20 days on a 25 or 30 years journey will make a difference.

By being cash for 20 days, he could avoid a dip too.

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7

Most likely not significant. However, on some days markets are volatile and with bad luck there can be a noticeable loss (the inverse is possible as well, of course). I would definitely not refrain from transferring away from PF because of that but I also see no reason to increase the risk by transferring both accounts at the same time.

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8

Did it many times and specifically from PF also. Transfer costs are zero, so there is absolutely no reason to wait.

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9

Thanks, this are really good news :slight_smile:

10

I also have some PF funds on 3a. I am not moving them yet since I use that to have a free PF account. It’s not optimal, I know.

11

Transfer costs are Zero, but you may pay a small amount for selling your Funds and buying new in your 3a.
As an example: Finpensions CSIF (CH) III Equity World ex CH Blue - Pension Fund Plus ZB
shows that buying shares costs you 0.08% and selling 0.03%.

Of course, that is still a lot cheaper than the paying 0.59% more per year.

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