• An advance withdrawal must amount to at least CHF 20,000 (does not apply to vested benefit policies or to purchases of unit certificates).
• An advance withdrawal can be applied for every five years, but no later than three years before retirement. If additional pension fund benefits have been purchased voluntarily, a minimum of three years must elapse before the amount in question can be withdrawn for home ownership purposes.
• Up to the age of 50, you can make a withdrawal up to the amount of your vested benefit. Thereafter, the advance withdrawal is limited to the termination benefit at age 50 or half the termination benefit at the age when the advance withdrawal is taken (whichever amount is higher).
• In the case of married persons or those living in registered partnerships, the partner must consent to the advance withdrawal in writing.
• The payment is transferred directly to the seller or lender. The law does not allow payments to be made to insured persons themselves.
• An entry must be made in the land register stating that property has been financed with pension assets. This restricts the owner in selling the residential property, ensuring that in case of a future sale the capital is available only for the intended purpose.
• If the residential property is sold, the advance withdrawal must be repaid to the employee benefit institution unless the capital is reinvested in owner-occupied residential property within two years. An advance withdrawal must also be repaid in full before any voluntary purchases of additional benefits under the pension fund can be made.

There are two ways of promoting home ownership through occupational benefit schemes: through advance withdrawals or through pledging. In the case of an advance withdrawal, all or part of the existing savings (the so-called termination benefit) is withdrawn in cash. In the case of pledging, pension claims are assigned to the pledgee as collateral.

Advance withdrawals and pledging are permitted for the acquisition or construction of residential property on the basis of sole ownership, co-ownership or joint ownership with the spouse or registered partner. In addition, it is also possible to repay mortgage loans, acquire unit certificates in a housing cooperative or make value-enhancing investments in an existing residential property. The funds may only be used for owner-occupied residential property. Owner-occupied means that the residential property is used by the insured person at his or her domicile or usual place of residence. It does not matter whether the place of residence is in Switzerland or abroad. However, the funds cannot be used to finance holiday homes or second homes.

An advance withdrawal will reduce the insured person’s retirement benefits, which can only be increased again by repaying the early withdrawal. Depending on the structure of the pension plan, an early withdrawal may also lead to reductions in risk cover in the event of disability or death.

An advance withdrawal can be voluntarily repaid before retirement, until the occurrence of another insured event (disability or death) or until the termination benefit has been paid out in cash. The minimum amount of any repayment is CHF 10,000.