Leaving Switzerland: what happens to your money

If you move to an EU or EFTA country and become subject to compulsory state pension insurance there, Swiss law blocks a full cash payout. Only the extra-mandatory (super-obligatory) portion can be paid out. The mandatory BVG portion must remain in Switzerland in a vested benefits account or policy and can only be drawn at the earliest five years before the AHV reference age of 65, so from roughly age 60 (Stiftung Auffangeinrichtung BVG).

If you move outside the EU/EFTA - to the UK, the US, Singapore, Dubai or anywhere else - a full cash withdrawal is possible on definitive departure. The same applies if you move to an EU/EFTA country but are not compulsorily insured there, for example because you take no gainful employment.

The split between mandatory and extra-mandatory capital is shown on your pension fund statement. Request an up-to-date statement before you give notice: high earners in generous funds often have a large extra-mandatory share, which materially changes what is accessible. Anyone with a US connection should also read our guide for US persons before withdrawing anything.

Swiss withholding tax on a pension lump sum paid to someone living abroad is levied at the rate of the canton in which the vested benefits or pillar 3a foundation has its registered office. Your former canton of residence is irrelevant. Schwyz is the cheapest, with a maximum of roughly 4.8% (indicative), which is precisely why so many vested benefits foundations are domiciled there (finpension; swissinfo.ch).

The practical consequence: transferring your vested benefits to a low-tax-canton foundation before you withdraw can save a meaningful share of a six-figure payout. The transfer itself is free of tax; it is simply a move between foundations. Do it well before the withdrawal, not in the same week.

Second lever: the tax is often reclaimable. Where a double taxation agreement gives your new country of residence the right to tax the lump sum - as with Germany, France, the UK and most EU states - you can apply for a refund of the Swiss withholding tax, generally within about three years, once you show the payout was declared at home. That only helps if the foreign tax is lower, so run both numbers first. See tax optimisation for the wider planning picture.

The EU/EFTA restriction that locks the mandatory pillar 2 capital does not apply to pillar 3a. Leaving Switzerland permanently is a recognised early-withdrawal ground, so the entire balance can be paid out to a German, French, British or Singaporean address alike (finpension).

Timing changes the tax, though. Withdraw before you deregister and the payout is taxed at the reduced capital-withdrawal rates of your Swiss commune of residence. Withdraw after deregistration and source tax applies at the foundation's canton, with the reclaim mechanism described above. Neither is universally better: a low-tax commune can beat the source-tax route, while a high-tax commune usually does not.

The paperwork is consistent across providers: the deregistration certificate (Abmeldebestätigung) from your commune, proof of your new foreign address, an ID copy and the signed withdrawal form, sometimes with a certified signature. Expect the money in roughly four to eight weeks. Details on account types and staggering are in our pillar 3a guide.

EU/EFTA nationals and nationals of the states with a Swiss social security agreement cannot claim a refund. Their contributions stay in the system and Switzerland pays a pro-rata AHV pension abroad from reference age under the coordination rules (ch.ch). That is not a loss, just deferral: the entitlement survives the move even if you never return.

Nationals of non-treaty states - India, Brazil, South Africa and China with limitations, among others - can instead request reimbursement of the AHV old-age contributions. Both the employee and employer old-age shares are refundable, roughly 8.7% of gross salary in total (indicative). The claim goes to the Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) in Geneva and requires that contributions were paid for at least one full year and that you leave definitively together with your spouse and children.

Refund or pension is not a free choice: it follows from your nationality and the agreement network. A refund also extinguishes the future pension entitlement, so for anyone with a long Swiss career the pension is often worth more than the cash even where a refund is available.

You deregister at your Gemeinde (Abmeldung), typically possible from about 30 days before departure. The certificate you receive is what pension foundations, 3a providers and insurers will ask for. Nothing else moves until you have it.

Tax follows next. You file a final part-year tax return covering the period up to your departure date, with wealth tax charged pro rata for the months of residence. After departure, only Swiss-situs assets - most commonly real estate - remain taxable in Switzerland.

Mandatory health insurance must be cancelled with the deregistration certificate; insurers will not accept a plain letter. Premiums already paid for the period after departure are refunded. Work through our leaving Switzerland checklist so nothing is missed in the final weeks, when there is rarely time to discover a gap.

Most Swiss banks allow existing clients to keep their accounts after emigrating, which is practical: pension and vested benefits payouts, a final salary, or a tax refund all still need a Swiss destination. Keep at least one account open until every Swiss payment has landed.

Expect conditions, though. Banks commonly apply non-resident fees, restrict investment and mortgage services, or impose minimum balances, and some decline the relationship altogether depending on the country you move to. Rules for US residents in particular are strict.

Whatever you do, notify the bank of your departure and new address. An out-of-date address triggers compliance holds at exactly the moment you need the account working, and correspondence about a locked vested benefits account may not reach you for years.

All entries assume a definitive departure with proper deregistration. Tax rates and payout conditions are indicative and vary by foundation, canton and the double taxation agreement with your new country - confirm your own case before you commit to a withdrawal you cannot reverse.