Guide
Taking pillar 3a: the five-year window around the reference age
In 2026 a pillar 3a old-age payment can start five years before the reference age and can wait five years after it if work continues. The benefit falls due at that age. For the ordinary age of 65, the FSIO places this window between 60 and 70.
Legal text: OPP 3, articles 3 and 7. The FSIO page of 27 November 2025 uses 60, 65 and 70 for the ordinary reference age of 65. Women in the AVS 21 transitional generation count the five years from their own reference age: AVS 21 and pillar 3a. Illustration, not a real person: someone whose reference age is 65 and who turns 63 in 2026 already has the window open, and can defer payment until 70 only if they prove they are still working.
Home ownership, leaving Switzerland and self-employment are earlier exits, not this window: housing, leaving Switzerland. Each person in a couple keeps their own ceiling: one ceiling each.
Article 3a paragraph 4: a transfer, or a buy-in to a pension institution, is no longer possible if an insurance policy falls due in the five years before the reference age. Read the contract: bank or insurance.
The wider frame is the Swiss third pillar.
Questions
Your questions, answered
The questions people ask before they request a comparison.
What is the current reference age for withdrawing pillar 3a?+−
For the ordinary age, 65. OPP 3 article 3 paragraph 1 counts five years around the reference age in article 13 paragraph 1 of the occupational-pension act, the same age as OASI. The FSIO page of 27 November 2025 illustrates that age as 65: payment from 60, and until 70 at the latest if work continues. Women in the AVS 21 transitional generation move toward 65 in steps. This guide does not publish the birth-year table.
From what age can pillar 3a be withdrawn?+−
At the earliest five years before the OASI reference age (OPP 3, art. 3 para. 1). The FSIO page “Your contribution to the 3rd pillar”, published on 27 November 2025, illustrates the ordinary age of 65 with a payment possible from 60.
Can pillar 3a stay open after 65?+−
Yes if gainful employment continues. Payment can be deferred for at most five years after the reference age, and contributions can continue for the same span. For the ordinary age of 65, the FSIO page writes “until 70 at the latest”.
Does a spouse have to agree to a retirement withdrawal?+−
Article 3 paragraph 6 OPP 3 requires the written consent of the spouse or registered partner for some early payments: a change of self-employed activity, a cash payment under the vested-benefits act, and home ownership. That paragraph does not cover the old-age benefit in paragraph 1.
Official sources
Official sources
- FSIO — The third pillar (article 7 OPP 3) — Small and large contributions. Pillar 3a buy-backs concern gaps from 2025. The first buy-back is possible in 2026.
- FSIO — Amounts valid on 1 January 2026 — OASI pensions, BVG thresholds and 2026 pillar 3a ceilings. Last editorial check: 6 octobre 2026.
- Federal Council — pillar 3a deduction from 1 January 2027 — Press release of 2 October 2026: 7,373 francs with a 2nd pillar, 36,864 francs at most without one. The 20% rate is unchanged.
- FSIO — Your third-pillar contribution — Maximum with a 2nd pillar, or 20% of income inside the limit without one. The credit counts on 31 December for the tax year.
- FTA — Circular 18a (taxation of pillar 3a) — Tax on capital at withdrawal, staggering, transfer to the 2nd pillar.
- FTA — Pillar 3b life policies that can be surrendered — Flexible provision is not one single tax story. A policy follows the contract and the canton.
- FSIO — OPP 3 change (beneficiaries) — The FSIO announced a wider choice of pillar 3a beneficiaries from 1 June 2027. The applicable detail is on that page, not in a ceiling figure.
- OASI/disability information centre — Pensions, the 13th old-age pension, reference age and the transitional generation.
FSIO ceiling review: 6 octobre 2026. Pillar 3a ceilings cited for 2026, from the FSIO table. From 1 January 2027 the Federal Council sets 7,373 francs with a 2nd pillar and 36,864 francs at most without one. The 20% rate is unchanged. Press release of 2 October 2026: https://www.admin.ch/fr/newnsb/BqB41FVYi5FB. Cantonal pillar 3b amounts can change from one tax notice to the next. This is not personal advice.