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Have you already heard of Guaranteed savings for pillar 3a heard?
Probably not, because that is a very New form of the 3rd pillarwhich is currently only offered by one provider. This is a Mixture of the classic savings account and securities solutionwhere you receive a guarantee for your pillar 3a.
In this article, you can find out exactly how this works, what the advantages and disadvantages are and which provider you can use.
The term "Guarantee savings" has not been around for very long. It is a model in which you pay into pillar 3a and receive a Guarantee for your capital. This allows you to protect all or at least part of your pension assets and you will definitely receive them back when you retire.
This works in principle similar to a bank savings solution. In addition to the guaranteed capital, with guaranteed savings you can also benefit from a return opportunity through shares. This means that you receive a higher return than interest on a savings account, for example.
| Criterion | Bank savings solution | Insurance solution | Securities custody account | Guarantee savings (bench) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital guarantee | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (80%, 90%, 100%) |
| Potential returns | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
| Fees | Low | High | Low | Medium |
| Flexibility of deposits | High | Low | High | High |
| Risk | Very low | Low to medium | Medium to high | Low |
As guaranteed savings is a new type of pillar 3a, let's take a brief look at the current models. This will give you a better idea of where the new solution fits in.
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The Bank savings solution is probably the best-known and oldest pillar 3a model. Here you pay your pension capital into a Special savings account with a bank This is the basis on which it remains tied up until retirement or the purchase of a home.
During this time you will receive Interest from the bank. However, these have been very low for years. In most cases, they are under 1% and are therefore even lower than inflation.
With the bank savings solution, you benefit from high securitybut you will only receive low yield.
The 3a insurance solution is also a well-known model. You pay your pension money into a 3a policy. These usually consist of risk insurance and a savings component. With a 3a insurance policy you can, for example protect your family against the financial consequences of loss of earnings, for example in the event of disability or death.
The disadvantage of this solution is that the Costs usually very high and are often non-transparent. In addition, only a portion is paid into a savings or custody account solution, on which you receive a return. The rest is used for hedging. Another unfavourable aspect is that the surrender value in the event of early termination is significantly lower than your payments. In fact, you cannot switch to another provider without losing money.
At the other end of the range are the 3a securities custody accounts. With this model, you pay your pillar 3a assets in Securities on.
With this 3a solution, you often benefit in the long term from a better return than with other models. Depending on the risk profile and strategy, a average return of 5% or more per year is possible.
The Disadvantage of this solution are the strong fluctuations. As your assets are invested in securities such as shares or ETFs, you benefit from an increase in value when performance is strong. In return, however, you also have to accept losses in the meantime.
If you have a long Investment horizon of 20 or 30 years this usually evens out over time. However, if the potential losses scare you or the whole subject of securities is simply too complicated for you, then guaranteed savings is a good interim solution for you.
With the code FRANKE you will receive a Galaxus voucher for CHF 25 from bench when you open an account!
Guarantee savings stands between the bank savings solution and the securities model.
So far, this has only been done by bench 3a is offered. This is a pillar 3a app where you can choose between 80%, 90% and 100% warranty you can choose. Depending on the guarantee level, you will receive at least 80% of your paid-in capital when you retire, with the money protected by Glarner Kantonalbank.
In addition, bench invests a portion of your assets, which means you also benefit from a Yield opportunity can benefit from. The higher your guarantee level, the lower the potential return. According to bench, a Yield from 1 - 4% possible.
However, the pillar 3a guarantee also costs something, of course. While many securities apps only Fees of around 0.4%, you will pay 0.8%. This is a flat-rate fee that is already included in the guaranteed amount and the return. So nothing is deducted in addition.
Advantages
Disadvantages
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Guaranteed savings is a Innovative pillar 3a model from benchwhere at least 80% of your deposited capital is guaranteed. In addition, you can also benefit from a Return of around 1 to 4% per year benefit.
This makes 3a guarantee savings particularly suitable if you are rather cautious and have previously used a savings account solution for your pension provision. With guaranteed savings, you can benefit from the same security, but receive significantly higher returns than the savings account interest.
Compared to a securities solution, however, the return in the long term is considerably lower. Guaranteed savings are probably ideal for you if you don't want to bear the full risk on the stock market and want to make sacrifices in terms of returns.
Furthermore, a solution like bench is perfect for you if you have a short to medium-term investment horizon with a clear term. Guaranteed savings can be a very exciting solution here.
Now it's your turn!
If you want to invest your pension assets securely and still benefit from attractive potential returns, then bench 3a with warranty savings is the ideal solution for you.
Start today with bench 3a and secure the financial future you want.
With the code FRANKE you will receive a Galaxus voucher for CHF 25 from bench when you open an account!
You pay your pillar 3a capital into either a bank or an insurance company. Even with an app, there is always a bank behind it. This means that pillar 3a assets up to CHF 100,000 are generally protected by privileged treatment in the event of bankruptcy.
In the case of bench, the state guarantee even applies, which means that the canton of Glarus is liable for the entire capital. Pillar 3a assets are therefore generally very secure.
This depends on your personal situation. You can pay in a maximum of CHF 7,258 (as at 2025) per year and deduct it from your taxes.
Transparency notice: This article was created in collaboration with Bench. The content and presentation are nevertheless freely and independently created by Schwiizerfranke.