Swiss Pension Fund Study 2026: What Pension Fund Advisors Need to Know About the Second Pillar

For pension fund advisors, this means that a significant number of potential or existing clients are heading toward retirement without a clear plan.

Pension Fund: Knowledge about the Second Pillar Is Unevenly Distributed

Our pension fund study shows that knowledge of one’s own pension plan depends heavily on sociodemographic factors. The majority of insured individuals rate their own knowledge as average: only 45 percent say they have a good or very good understanding of their pension plan. Twenty-one percent rate their knowledge as poor or even very poor.

• Gender: Men rate their knowledge of pension funds and occupational retirement plans significantly higher than women. While men achieve an average score of 3.5 (on a scale of 1 to 5), women have an average score of 3.1. As many as 17 percent of women are unaware of their pension plan, compared to just 10 percent of men. Female policyholders are therefore a target group with a particularly high need for education and correspondingly high potential for advisory services.
• Age: As people get older, their understanding of the second pillar—or the pension fund—increases. Those aged 18 to 29 rate their knowledge at 3.2, while those over 60 rate it at 3.6.

• Education and income: This is where the strongest effects are evident. Individuals with only a compulsory primary school education (3.1) or an income below 4,000 francs (2.9) exhibit significant gaps in their knowledge. Among college graduates (3.5) and those with incomes over 12,000 francs (3.6), understanding of pension funds and occupational retirement plans is significantly higher. A closer look at income reveals that in the lowest income bracket (up to CHF 4,000), as many as 29 percent do not know where their 2nd pillar is managed. In contrast, among those with incomes over CHF 12,000, the figure is only 4 percent. Furthermore, company-owned pension funds are significantly more prevalent among the highest earners (36 percent) than among the lowest earners (26 percent).

• Housing situation: Homeowners are significantly more familiar with their pension fund (3.7) than renters (3.1).

Tip for pension fund advisors: The main problem facing the industry isn’t mistrust, but rather a limited understanding of their own solutions. Standardized information about pension funds is often insufficient. Especially when it comes to younger, lower-income groups and those less interested in retirement planning, clear, target-audience-specific communication is the most effective strategy.

Confidence in the pension fund is high

How do Swiss citizens rate their pension funds? Our pension fund study paints a nuanced picture.

• High level of trust in leadership: Trust in the pension fund’s fair and competent leadership is comparatively high at 56 percent (top-2 ratings of 5 and 6)—the highest score across all four evaluation dimensions. Only 14 percent of respondents disagree with this statement (ratings of 1 and 2 on the scale).
• Comprehensibility of the pension statement: Just under half of respondents (48 percent) find the pension statement easy to understand. However, men and higher-income earners understand the statement significantly better than women and lower-income earners. As many as 19 percent find the statement difficult to understand (scores of 1 and 2).

• A critical view of returns: Returns are already viewed more critically (43 percent agree). Here, the proportion of undecided respondents (score 4) is highest at 34 percent, indicating significant uncertainty in assessing returns.
• Concerns about standard of living: The real sticking point with the 2nd pillar is maintaining one’s standard of living in old age. Only 31 percent of respondents in our study believe that their pension fund and AHV/IV will allow them to continue their accustomed lifestyle in a reasonable manner. There is therefore doubt about the future security of the pension solution. This is the only statement where the rejection rate (scores 1 and 2) is relatively high at 21 percent, and the approval rate (scores 5 and 6) is the lowest at 31 percent.

Pension funds are therefore perceived more as fair than as a guarantee of a worry-free retirement. Even in cases where a pension fund is considered to be managed competently, there remains a concern that the retirement savings will ultimately be insufficient.

Pension Plans in Switzerland Under Scrutiny

Concerns about living standards in old age are not evenly distributed. Our study of pension funds also reveals significant social disparities in this area.

• Women are significantly more pessimistic: only 26 percent of women believe their standard of living is secure, compared to 37 percent of men. This may be due, among other things, to the fact that women in Switzerland withdraw only half as much money from their pension funds as men.
• Regional differences: French-speaking Switzerland (24 percent) is significantly more pessimistic than German-speaking Switzerland (34 percent).
• The income effect: Among those earning less than 4,000 francs, only 19 percent believe they have adequate retirement savings; among those earning more than 12,000 francs, the figure is 40 percent.

This disconnect between trust in the pension fund and concerns about one’s own financial future is the central conflict that advisors should address through personalized retirement planning analyses.

Methodology: For this study, a total of 2,304 online interviews were conducted between February and April 2026 with residents of Switzerland. The sample allows for a detailed analysis by age group, gender, region, education level, income, and housing situation.