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Make comprehensive provision, build up capital securely

SmartFlex pension plan

One person in three has a pension gap

66% of people in paid employment pay into Pillar 3 regularly

Without Pillar 3, you are missing around 40% of your previous earned income

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Key points at a glance

Make financial provision: with AXA’s SmartFlex pension plan (Pillars 3a/3b), you build capital for the time after retirement and save on taxes at the same time.
Flexibly adaptable: choose from four investment topics - Sustainability, Switzerland, Future Trends and Global - and adjust your strategy where necessary.
Attractive returns: in line with your risk tolerance, you can divide your money into security capital and return-oriented capital, and thus achieve attractive returns.

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Arrange an appointment: 052 269 21 67

SmartFlex pension plan (Pillar 3a/3b): more money in retirement

With the SmartFlex pension plan (Pillar 3a/3b), you save individually and securely for the period after retirement. In doing so, you benefit from integral risk cover for death and occupational disability. Adapt your pension plan flexibly – to the present and future circumstances of your life.

Your advantages with SmartFlex

Clear and predictable benefits with a simple and transparent pension plan.
100% legal security for your safety capital; your return-oriented capital is legally protected based on the current market value of the fund units.
Benefit from the specialist knowledge of AXA, one of the world's largest pension fund asset managers.
Manage your risk with various options such as premium splitting, investment topics and safety options. You can also manually switch between safety and return-oriented capital or protect returns.
Easy access to current contract details through online services.
Reduced investment risk through broad diversification.
Low investment costs.
Option to invest in companies seeking a carbon-neutral economy.

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This is how the SmartFlex pension plan works (Pillar 3a/3b)

Investment theme according to your wishes

Under the SmartFlex pension plan, AXA invests your return-oriented capital in broadly diversified equity funds. As a customer, you have the option of choosing an investment that matches your personal convictions. You can choose between "Sustainability", "Switzerland", "Future trends" and "Global".

Regardless of the investment theme, AXA excludes sectors such as tobacco and controversial weapons and does not invest in companies that are heavily involved in coal (e.g. >10% coal in their energy mix).

To the AXA Group Responsible Investment Policy.

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SmartFlex pension plan «investment theme» - Factsheet [.pdf , 100KB]

Table shows the annual performance of four funds (Global, Sustainability, Switzerland, Trends) in CHF from 2020 to 2024 and the annualized launch.

You can find more information on the individual investment themes in our fund list.

Flexible premium split

With your personal premium split, you determine which portion of your premium should be invested in equities as return-oriented capital, and which portion earns interest as safety capital and is legally secured in full.

You can individually amend your premium split and decide at any time how your assets should be invested or how much you would like to benefit from the possibility of generating returns.

A diagram shows the development of income credit balances (top, yellow) and security credit balances (bottom, blue) over time. — Chart: SmartFlex premium split

Safety options

Would you like to help manage the risk of your investment? Choose our safety options and activate and deactivate them at no cost whenever you like.

Protection of earnings
Protect the investment income (distributions from your equity fund) and surpluses from your contract. Your income will be allocated to the safety capital.
Maturity management
You have the option of reducing your investment risk gradually before the contract ends by progressively reallocating the return-oriented capital into your safety capital portion that earns interest at variable rates.
Activate and deactivate safety options
The SmartFlex safety options can be activated and deactivated at no cost and at any time during the contract.
Manual reallocations
You can make manual reallocations at any time between the return-oriented capital and the safety capital portion that earns interest at variable rates. This enables you to help manage the risk of your investment.

Integrated term life insurance

Did you know that the SmartFlex pension plan includes optional comprehensive term life insurance?

You can choose from the following options:

Guaranteed lump-sum death benefit.
Reimbursement of premiums already paid into the pension plan +10%, with supplementary insurance for premium waiver in the event of occupational disability in Pillar 3b.
Without term life insurance, but with supplementary insurance for premium waiver in the event of occupational disability.

The amount of the guaranteed death lump sum can be adjusted. This may require a new review of professional, personal and health circumstances.

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Term life insurance – Factsheet [.pdf , 160KB]

Frequently asked questions

A pension solution with a bank or insurance company does not have all advantages or disadvantages. But in a detailed comparison of both alternatives, it becomes clear that a Pillar 3a pension solution with an insurance company has many more options and flexibility than a pension account with a bank.

You benefit from AXA’s experience as one of the world’s largest asset managers. We are particularly known for our expertise in managing pension assets. Your contributions in your safety capital have full legal protection in AXA’s tied assets. The capital in your return-oriented capital also has legal protection to the extent of the current market value.

The SmartFlex pension plan can be flexibly adapted to your personal financial circumstances and requirements. Save for your life in retirement in a way that suits you today! You benefit from various safety options and can also easily reallocate capital from the safety capital into the return-oriented capital. You also have the option of varying from the fixed pension premium or stopping individual payments entirely.

With SmartFlex, you determine the area in which you would like your pension capital to be invested. You can choose between "Sustainability", "Switzerland", "Future trends" or "Global", with investments made exclusively in equities. The best thing is that you can change your preferred investment theme whenever you like. No matter which investment theme you select, AXA excludes companies in sectors such as tobacco, controversial weapons, coal, oil, gas, and others.

Under the legal regulations on Pillar 3a, paid-in premiums can be directly deducted from taxable income, which means that the tax burden will be reduced depending on canton and family circumstances. But taxes can also be saved smartly on the basis of Pillar 3b: for instance, disbursements from flexible pension provision are tax-free.

In addition to the SmartFlex pension plan, there is also the option of taking out term life insurance. In the event of your death, the beneficiaries receive an agreed lump sum. Or you choose an occupational disability pension that provides cover against loss of income through illness or accident. But AXA also offers suitable supplementary insurance for a waiver from paying premiums in the event of death or occupational disability.

Always there for you

Do you have any questions about Pillar 3 or would you like a no-obligation pension consultation? Our experts are there for you.

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Further information to help you plan your financial future

Save tax with Pillar 3

Families have plenty of expenses. Pillar 3 offers you a simple way of saving while protecting your loved ones at the same time.

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Pension provision from a bank or insurance company

When choosing a suitable provider for a pension solution based on Pillar 3a, interested parties are quickly faced with the question of whether to choose a bank or an insurance company.

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Pension fund certificate in a nutshell

At first glance, the pension fund certificate is a mass of technical jargon and figures. But it's not that hard to make sense of it.

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Part-time and pension funds: mind the retirement gaps!

More and more people are working part-time in Switzerland. If you don’t actively manage your retirement, you could end up with a massive pension gap.

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