February 2026
06Feb

Swiss Serenity Launches Free Second Pillar Asset Search Tool

Swiss Serenity has launched a free asset search tool that facilitates access to second pillar asset information. This search service allows every Swiss citizen to verify whether they have dispersed or forgotten occupational pension assets by following a simplified process. This tool addresses a real administrative need: according to the Central Office 2nd Pillar, billions of francs in pension assets remain unclaimed in Switzerland, often due to employer changes or periods of professional inactivity. Context: Dispersed and Forgotten Assets Many Swiss citizens have second pillar...

February 6, 2026
News,
Read more...

January 2026
19Jan

Swiss Life Holding AG: How a 165-Year Incumbent Is Rebuilding Wealth and Retirement for a Volatile Age

The New Urgency of Swiss Life Holding AG Retirement planning used to be boring. Then zero interest rates, inflation spikes, housing crises, and fragmented work lives turned it into a high?stakes puzzle that most people are failing to solve. In Europe, where demographic aging is accelerating and public pension systems are under strain, that puzzle is now an existential problem for households and a structural challenge for governments. Swiss Life Holding AG sits right at the center of that storm. Officially,...

January 19, 2026
News,
Read more...
14Jan

Swiss regulator flags ‘acute’ systemic risks at multi-employer pension funds

Switzerland’s occupational pension supervisor, the Oberaufsichtskommission Berufliche Vorsorge (OAK BV), is tightening oversight of pension funds exposed to systemic risks that could undermine their financial stability. In a note circulated in December, the authority set out instructions contained in directive W-01/2025, which entered into force on 1 January. The directive requires cantonal and regional supervisory authorities to carry out a comprehensive assessment of financial and non-financial risks for the pension funds under their supervision. OAK BV now expects a “structured assessment...

January 14, 2026
News, ,
Read more...

September 2025
30Sep

Swiss pension fund defends oil and gas exposure despite political pushback

Pensionskasse des Kantons Schwyz (PKSZ), the CHF3bn (€3.2bn) pension fund of the Swiss canton of Schwyz, will continue to invest in oil and gas companies – including those operating in authoritarian regimes – arguing that greening the portfolio would damage returns. The canton’s government has rejected a motion tabled by members of the Social Democratic Party (SP) to amend the law governing the fund’s investments, which would have introduced sustainability criteria and excluded fossil fuel holdings. The executive council, led by...

September 30, 2025
News,
Read more...
09Sep

Swiss pension funds warned on equity, bond concentration risks

Swiss pension funds are facing rising concentration risks in domestic and global equities, bonds, and regional exposures, particularly the US, according to the Pensionskassen-Jahrbuch 2025 report published by consultancy PPCmetrics. The study shows that around two-thirds (67.5%) of total pension assets of CHF859bn (€921bn) are invested in bonds and equities. The remaining 32.5% is allocated to real estate, alternatives and infrastructure. Within fixed income, an average 24.2% of total assets are invested in bonds denominated in Swiss francs, and just under 12% in...

September 9, 2025
News,
Read more...

July 2025
29Jul

Why do many Swiss people choose to emigrate in old age?

Having worked their entire lives, paying into the system and forgoing vacations, some Swiss are shocked to discover they can't afford life in Switzerland after retirement. More and more retirees are choosing to leave their homeland – not in search of adventure, but out of sheer necessity. "After working hard for so many years, pensioners are being pushed to the margins of society. When it comes to its own people, I no longer see Switzerland as a social country." State pensions...

July 29, 2025
News, ,
Read more...

June 2025
24Jun

Pension funds and monetary policy: Between burden and opportunity – WTW

On June 19, 2025, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) lowered its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.0%. This marks the second rate cut this year (fifth since June last year) and signals that the SNB is once again reacting more actively to cooling inflation and ongoing upward pressure on the Swiss franc. SNB President Martin Schlegel cited the subdued inflation outlook—current projections for the year are just 0.2%—as well as a globally uncertain environment. At the same time, the...

June 24, 2025
News,
Read more...

May 2025
13May

Swiss pension industry faces mounting skills shortage as funds invest in training

The Swiss occupational pension sector is facing a deepening shortage of skilled workers, a trend expected to intensify in the coming years. Larger pension funds are increasingly investing in training programmes to attract career changers and mitigate the talent gap. Sandro Meyer, a member of the executive board at Zurich Switzerland, told IPE that the shortage of qualified professionals is becoming a critical challenge for the industry. This is partly due to demographic shifts – there are simply fewer young people entering the...

May 13, 2025
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

March 2025
07Mar

Switzerland raises concerns over handing pension fund management to US banks

For all intents and purposes, the funds appear to have been well-placed, yielding a return of 7.33% last year, thanks to positions in bonds, equities, oil and gold. Compenswiss, an independent public body that manages the assets (46.1 billion Swiss francs, or 48.9 billion euros) of Swiss social security insurers, has been pleased. "At the end of 2024, all asset classes were clearly in positive territory," said institution director Eric Breval three weeks ago, while presenting its annual results....

March 7, 2025
News, Slider,
Read more...

October 2024
01Oct

Swiss MP proposes integration of pension model for temp workers in second pillar

Christian Lohr, member of parliament (MP) for The Centre (Die Mitte) party in the National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has asked the government (Federal Council) to assess the possibility of integrating the pension model designed by the industry for temporary workers into the second pillar pension system, as an alternative to change occupational pensions after the public rejected the proposed reform in a recent vote. The pension fund model in the temporary employment sector enables many...

October 1, 2024
News, , , ,
Read more...