Which pillar 3a is right for you?
In six questions, the pillar 3a comparison tool shows you the form that matches a given profile and what, in an existing contract, stands in the way of making it compliant. It is there to help you understand and does not constitute advice.
Your answers in detail
General guidance does not replace a personal conversation
This pillar 3a comparison tool places a profile. You still have to choose the institution, screen the funds and, if necessary, leave an existing contract. Those decisions are yours, to be taken with your bank, your foundation or an authorised intermediary. An ALG Club expert helps you prepare them in full knowledge of the facts, with no product to sell and nothing to subscribe to.
Speak to an expertThis tool provides indicative guidance for educational purposes, based on the general rules of pillar 3a and on the principles of AAOIFI screening. It constitutes neither a religious opinion (fatwa), nor investment, pension or insurance advice within the meaning of the LSFin. ALG Club does not draw up, distribute or compare any pension contract and is not an insurance intermediary: any subscription is made by you, with an authorised institution.
How does this pillar 3a comparison tool work?
The tool cross-references six parameters that on their own determine the form of pillar 3a suited to a situation: employment status, the contract already held, the investment horizon, the presence of dependants, the compliance requirement and the capacity to contribute. It retrieves no external data and keeps nothing: the calculation is done entirely in your browser.
The logic is deliberately simple, because in most cases so is the decision. The difficulty comes with the execution: choosing the institution, selecting the funds, and leaving an existing contract cleanly.
What forms does pillar 3a take in Switzerland?
Pillar 3a is a legal framework defined by the OPP 3 ordinance (RS 831.461.3), within which two families of institutions may open a contract. Three concrete forms follow from it.
- The interest-bearing 3a account: blocked savings that pay interest. It is simple and liquid, but its return is by nature below inflation.
- The securities-based pillar 3a: contributions are invested in one or more funds. The return comes from the assets held, and therefore from taking real risk.
- The 3a insurance policy: a contract that combines savings, risk cover and charges, with a premium commitment over time.
Which form is the easiest to make compliant?
The securities-based pillar 3a. It is not compliant in itself, but it is the only form that leaves the choice of investments open. Once that choice is open, making it compliant consists in screening the funds against verifiable criteria: sector exclusion first, then the three AAOIFI ratios (interest-bearing debt below 33 % of market capitalisation, interest-bearing cash below 33 %, non-compliant income below 5 %).
The interest-bearing account is ruled out by its interest, and the insurance policy by the way it is built: guaranteed technical interest rate, contractual uncertainty and bond reserves. Our guide to the halal pillar 3a sets out what each form involves.
Do you need death and disability cover?
It all depends on one question: would anyone be financially dependent on you in the event of your death or of an incapacity to earn? If so, the need is real and must be quantified against the household's expenses and the outstanding balance of any mortgage. If not, adding cover to a savings contract amounts to paying for a risk that does not exist.
Where the need exists, it is better to separate the two: a securities-based pillar 3a for the savings, pure risk insurance for the cover. Each contract can then be read, compared and cancelled independently of the other.
How much can you pay into pillar 3a in 2026?
The deduction limits are unchanged for the 2026 tax year: 7'258 francs for a person affiliated to a pension fund, and 20 % of net income with a maximum of 36'288 francs for a self-employed person without a 2nd pillar. These amounts are set by the Confederation and published by the Federal Social Insurance Office.
Since 2026, it has also been possible to fill a gap year retroactively, up to the limit of the small contribution and within a rolling ten-year window. Our 3a buy-back simulator quantifies the tax recoverable and sets out the exact conditions.
What to do with a contract already signed?
Before cancelling anything, run the numbers. A bank pillar 3a can be transferred freely to another foundation, with no tax and no loss. An insurance policy, by contrast, returns a surrender value that is often lower than the premiums paid during the first years; that value is not paid out in cash, but transferred to another recognised form of tied pension.
That leaves three options: keeping the contract, waiving the payment of premiums, or cancelling with a transfer. An ALG Club expert can go through them with you, figures in hand, before any decision.
The amounts quoted are those of the 2026 tax year. This pillar 3a comparison tool provides general guidance and does not take into account your full tax situation, your acquired BVG/LPP benefits or any commitments you may have in place. It does not constitute investment advice within the meaning of the LSFin, nor a product recommendation.
Your pillar 3a decision, figures in hand.
In a conversation of about an hour, an ALG Club expert helps you move from general guidance to your own decisions: reading your contract, screened vehicles, exit conditions. There is no product to sell, nothing to subscribe to and no obligation.