Imagine a financial treasure waiting somewhere for you – and you have no idea it exists. Sounds unlikely? In fact, billions of Swiss francs lie dormant in Switzerland in the form of forgotten occupational pension funds, waiting to be claimed by their rightful owners.
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How do forgotten occupational pension funds arise?
Over the course of a working life, many people change employers several times. With each job change, the accumulated occupational pension assets are either transferred to the new employer’s pension fund or paid into a vested benefits account. However, this transfer does not always run smoothly for various reasons:
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Lack of awareness: Many people are unaware of their responsibility to actively transfer the funds.
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Change of address: Moving house or changing one’s name can mean that pension funds are no longer able to contact former employees.
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Time abroad: People who leave Switzerland often forget to transfer their occupational pension assets.
The extent of the forgotten assets
The Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution BVG manages around 600,000 accounts with so-called “contactless” assets, with a total value of approximately 2.7 billion Swiss francs. On average, these accounts hold about 4,500 Swiss francs, although some balances are considerably higher.
How you can track down your forgotten assets
If you suspect that you have forgotten occupational pension assets, there are several ways to find them:
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Central Office 2nd Pillar: This institution helps free of charge in the search for forgotten pension assets. By completing a form with your personal details, it can be checked whether any such assets exist. Check now: https://sfbvg.ch/en/tasks/enquiry-about-occupational-benefit-credit-balances
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Professional service providers: There are companies specialising in the search for forgotten occupational pension assets. While the search is often free of charge, fees may apply for transferring the recovered funds.
To prevent occupational pension assets from being forgotten, you should keep all pension documents in order, always report changes of address or name, and actively monitor the transfer of your funds when changing jobs. Regularly check your pension statements and maintain contact with your pension provider – even if you move abroad.