Pillar 3 for the self-employed
Without LPP cover, providing for retirement, death and disability rests with you: the large pillar 3a is the central tool, with every contribution deducted from taxable income.
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The essentials
A self-employed person is under no obligation to join a pillar 2 scheme. Beyond AVS and AI, neither retirement, nor disability, nor the protection of family members is financed automatically. Restricted pension provision, pillar 3a, becomes the cornerstone of their financial security, provided it is built deliberately.
Without a pillar 2 scheme, you have access to the large pillar 3a: you may pay in up to 20% of your net earned income, up to a ceiling set each year. Every contribution is deducted from your taxable income, a meaningful tax lever in good years, adjustable in the others.
Bank-based 3a savings provide neither a disability pension nor a death lump sum by themselves: these covers have to be built, through pure risk insurance or a 3a policy that includes them. We coordinate the whole, savings, risks, tax, including a possible voluntary LPP affiliation where it makes sense.
What this insurance covers
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Pillar 3a retirement savings
Flexible payments into a bank account or a restricted pension policy: the capital builds at your own pace, year after year, with no obligation to reach the maximum.
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Tax deduction from income
Every payment into pillar 3a is deducted from your taxable income, within the limits set for self-employed people without a pension fund.
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Death lump sum for your family
Death cover protects your family and, where relevant, the continuity of your business: debts, rents and running costs do not disappear with you.
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Pension in the event of disability
Without pillar 2, the AI pension stands alone: a private disability pension closes the gap between the first pillar and your actual standard of living.
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Waiver of premiums
If you become unable to earn, the insurer continues the payments into your pension plan on your behalf, your savings keep building.
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Regulated early withdrawals
Pillar 3a capital may be used before retirement in the cases provided for by law: owner-occupied housing, permanent departure from Switzerland, a change of self-employed activity.
Who it is for
- Self-employed sole proprietors with no pension fund affiliation.
- Partners in partnerships remunerated as self-employed persons.
- Independent professionals in private practice: doctors, lawyers, architects, therapists.
- Business founders leaving salaried employment and losing their LPP cover.
- Self-employed people with voluntary LPP cover who want to strike the right balance between pillars 2 and 3.
How we support you
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Analysing your risks
What you have, what is missing, what overlaps: an honest assessment.
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Competitive tenders
Several insurers approached against a precise specification, compared item by item.
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Long-term follow-up
Set-up, renewals, claims: a single point of contact, year after year.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a self-employed person pay into pillar 3a?
Without pension fund affiliation, you fall under the large pillar 3a: up to 20% of your net earned income, capped at a maximum amount set each year by the federal authorities. If you have joined an LPP scheme voluntarily, the smaller ceiling for employees applies instead. Contributions remain flexible: nothing obliges you to reach the maximum every year.
Bank or insurance for my pillar 3a?
A bank account offers flexibility: free payments and no commitment over time. An insurance policy ties the savings to risk covers, a death lump sum, waiver of premiums if you cannot earn, in exchange for a firmer commitment. For a self-employed person without LPP cover, the real question is which risks to cover: we compare both routes, and often combine them.
What happens in the event of disability without LPP cover?
The first pillar pays an AI pension, calculated on your income subject to AVS, often far below your actual standard of living. Without pillar 2, no supplementary pension arrives automatically. This protection therefore has to be built: loss-of-earnings insurance, a private disability pension, waiver of premiums. It is the most critical point in a self-employed person’s pension planning.
Can a self-employed person join the LPP voluntarily?
Yes, voluntary affiliation is possible, in particular through the pension institution of your professional association. It opens the door to deductible buy-ins and organised risk cover, but reduces your 3a ceiling to the smaller amount for employees. The trade-off depends on your income, your tax position and your family situation, we quantify it with you before any decision.
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Jules Rossier, non-tied insurance intermediary within the meaning of Art. 45 of the Insurance Supervision Act (ISA), registered with FINMA under no. F01581788.