myPublica help

Before you can log in to myPublica, you must set up an AGOV login. Enter your member ID and activation code. Switch to a different browser. We recommend Microsoft Edge. Make sure that your browser accepts cookies.

You have a new or additional smartphone or tablet on which you want to activate your AGOV login. You want to deactivate the AGOV login on your old device, as you no longer use this mobile device.

You can find answers to these questions at agov.ch

• Account management
• Account recovery
• AGOV access App
• Security key

You can find answers to these questions at agov.ch

If you have forgotten your login details, get in touch with your contact at PUBLICA.

The activation code is only valid for 90 days. If your code no longer works, get in touch with your contact at PUBLICA.

Terms of Use for the Online Portals of the Swiss Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA

I.        GENERAL PROVISIONS
 

1. Scope of application

These Terms of Use govern the use and administration of the portals maintained by PUBLICA:

• myPublica active member portal
• myPublica pension recipient portal
• Employer portal
• Governing body portal

They apply to all registered users using the services of those portals.

2. General considerations

• Points 2–10 contain the provisions that apply to all the portals listed above.
• Points 11–14 contain the provisions that apply to specific portals only.
• Further provisions on data protection can be found in the privacy policy on the website publica.ch.
• Use of the portals is free of charge.
• The servers on which the portals are operated and the data are stored are located in Switzerland.
• In the event of any dispute, the German version of this document takes precedence.

3. Duties and responsibilities of PUBLICA

How secure are the portals?

• The portals comply with state-of-the-art security standards.
  • Communication is via an encrypted internet connection. Access is by means of modern, passwordless two-factor authentication, for example using biometric characteristics (face ID, fingerprint) or a physical security key (FIDO).

What about data protection?

• PUBLICA takes all reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the data made available in the portals against unauthorised access or other forms of data processing not permitted by law.
• PUBLICA performs the tasks assigned to it under the PUBLICA Act and processes personal data for the purpose of administering occupational pension provision. Except where otherwise provided for, PUBLICA treats as confidential any information made available to it via the portals that is not in the public domain. Data are protected in accordance with the provisions on data protection contained in the Federal Act on Occupational Old Age, Survivors’ and Disability Pension Provision (OPA, SR 831.40), the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, SR 235.1) and the corresponding ordinances.
• Further provisions on data protection (retention period and categories of data) are set out in point 9.

Which browsers and operating systems can the portals be used with?

PUBLICA tests performance using the latest versions of the most commonly used browsers and operating systems. PUBLICA cannot guarantee that the portals will work with all browsers and operating systems.

Are the portals available 24 hours a day?

• PUBLICA makes every effort to ensure that the portals are available to users at all times, but cannot guarantee that this will be the case. Users will be notified of upcoming maintenance work or planned system downtimes.
• PUBLICA will rectify any interruptions and problems, especially those for which it is responsible, as quickly as possible. PUBLICA will decide when errors are to be rectified without consulting users. Depending on the duration of an interruption or the complexity of the problem, PUBLICA may notify users on the website publica.ch.

What lies outside PUBLICA’s responsibility?

• Risks in connection with the authorisation conducted via the FOITT when registering or logging in.
• Loss or damage
  • resulting from misuse – including violations of these Terms of Use – by users or third parties;
  • attributable to using the portals in ways that are improper or contrary to the regulations, in particular to a violation of duties of due diligence by users or third parties;
  • incurred by users as a result of transmission errors, technical defects, interruptions, disruptions or incorrect data;
  • resulting from transmission errors, technical defects, overloading, interruptions (including system maintenance work), disruptions and illegal interference or deliberate blocking of telecommunications equipment and networks or other shortcomings on the part of the operators of the telecommunication equipment or networks;
  • resulting from blocking of access or of portals in accordance with point 7.
• Despite having put in place appropriate protection, responding rapidly to relevant notifications, conducting regular inspections and taking action, PUBLICA
  • cannot exclude the possibility of the portals and the associated web applications being misused;
  • cannot guarantee that the portals are secure against attacks by hackers, viruses, etc.;
  • cannot guarantee that data will not be captured or published by third parties during transmission, and that consequently, the confidentiality of that data is assured;
  • cannot guarantee that e-mails with PUBLICA as the sender address were in fact sent by PUBLICA, or that e-mails sent by PUBLICA will reach the correct recipient unaltered and in good time. The same applies to the content and operations of third-party websites accessible via a hyperlink.

When is PUBLICA liable?

In the event of claims, and regardless of their legal basis, PUBLICA will only be liable for loss or damage caused by grossly negligent or deliberate actions by staff acting on behalf of PUBLICA.
To the extent permitted by law, PUBLICA excludes liability for auxiliary staff and agents as well as for indirect and consequential loss or damage.

4. Duties and responsibilities of users

What are the duties of users?

• Users must provide complete and truthful information when registering for and using the portal.
• All information must be kept correct and up to date.
• For this reason, changes that affect the right to access the portal such as
  • leaving PUBLICA,
  • standing down from a governing body,
  • switching to a different pension plan or
  • transferring access authorisation to a different person
• must be communicated to PUBLICA promptly by means of a written document bearing a legally binding signature. Portal-specific conditions may also apply.
  Details of the procedure for doing so can be found on the website (publica.ch).
• Users may only use the portal for the intended purpose.
• Users must
  • respect the rights of third parties;
  • check their data for correctness before sending them;
  • protect their IT infrastructure and the devices on which they use the portal against unauthorised access and misuse by third parties;
  • keep their means of authentication secret, manage them securely and protect them against misuse by third parties.
• If there are doubts as to whether an e-mail was in fact sent by PUBLICA, it must not be opened, and/or instructions contained in it acted upon, before consulting PUBLICA to confirm that PUBLICA is indeed the sender.
• If users detect an error (e.g. unauthorised access by third parties), they must inform PUBLICA without delay. If, as the result of an error, users gain access to confidential information protected by law, they must not disseminate, copy or otherwise use that information in any way.

What lies within the user’s responsibility?

• Users are responsible for
  • technical access to the portals (hardware, software, browser, internet provider).
  • The provision of technical access, and in particular use of the internet, is not covered by these Terms of Use; every use of the access within their sphere of responsibility, as well as the content of the information sent.
• Users are expressly advised that
  • user names, passwords and means of authentication for the portal must be kept secret and stored in a safe place, must not be shared, and must be protected against misuse by third parties;
  • information accessed and read from the portals is stored by the browser in a cache on the device used to access them.
• Data stored in this way can be read by anyone using the device until the cache is cleared.
• The method of clearing the cache differs from browser to browser; consult the documentation for the browser concerned for details.
• Inadequate security precautions on the device(s) used may enable or facilitate unauthorised access to data belonging to the user or held by PUBLICA.

5. Authentication and access data

How do users gain access to one or more portals?

Requirements:

• Authentication for the portals is via CH-LOGIN (until the end of 2025, according to the schedule) or AGOV (the authentication service of the Swiss authorities). AGOV replaces the Federal Administration’s CH-LOGIN and is operated by the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT) as identity provider (IdP) and run by the Digital Transformation and ICT Steering sector of the Federal Chancellery (FCh DTI). For provisions relating to data protection law, see the website agov.admin.ch. In the employer portal, authentication can also be carried out using FED-LOGIN.
• PUBLICA reserves the right to change the IdP or assume the function of IdP itself, without consulting users.
• Users require an access identity issued by the IdP.

6. Access and access activation

How do users gain access to one or more portals?

Access:

• Access to the portals is granted to persons who are authorised to use one or more portals.
• Access is activated by means of an invitation process. The activation data are contained in the invitation letter.
• Access authorisation is personal and non-transferable. The provisions applicable to specific portals (points 11 et seqq.) may provide for access rights to be granted to additional persons.

7. Exclusion from use

Who can order a block?

Blocking at the user’s request

• If a user has reasons to believe that unauthorised persons have obtained or could obtain access to the portal, they must notify PUBLICA without delay. Until a block requested by a user from PUBLICA has been put in place, the user bears full responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from unauthorised access to the portal.
• Contact for requesting a block 
  Details of who to contact to request a block by PUBLICA can be found on the portal or the website publica.ch.

Blocking by PUBLICA

• If PUBLICA or the system operators acting on its behalf detect security risks or other irregularities in the use of one or more portals, PUBLICA may at any time, temporarily and without prior notice, block individual access as well as individual portals or all portals, either wholly or in part.
• In particular, a block may be put in place if
  • users fail to comply with the Terms of Use,
  • access authentication is misused or shared, or
  • a risk from malware is identified.

8. Accepting the Terms of Use and amendments to them

Where can users find the Terms of Use?

The legally binding Terms of Use can be found at publica.ch.

Do users have to accept the Terms of Use?

• Anyone wishing to use a portal must confirm their acceptance of these Terms of Use by placing a cross in the checkbox.
• No access to the portals will be granted without this acceptance.
• The confirmation will also be valid for activation in respect of other portals and their use. 

What happens if amendments are made to the Terms of Use?

PUBLICA reserves the right to amend the Terms of Use as necessary. Users will be informed of the amendments online the next time they log in.

Do users also have to accept amended Terms of Use? 

• Users must also confirm their acceptance of amended Terms of Use by placing a cross in the checkbox.
• If they refuse to do so, this will automatically result in the immediate cancellation of access authorisation in respect of all portals.
• The amendment notification will make reference to this fact.

9. Data protection

Data on user behaviour

PUBLICA processes data to optimise the user experience and user behaviour (e.g. search terms, instances of access, surfing behaviour and the like). These data are used to make the portal solutions more user-friendly and to continually improve the web experience.

When users access the portal solutions, PUBLICA automatically gathers certain information on use:

• the anonymised IP address of the device used;
• the identification data of the browser used (e.g. Edge, Firefox);
• the operating system of the device used (e.g. Windows 10, Mac OSX, Android);
• the quantity of data transferred (how much data was downloaded from the website);
• the name of the internet service provider (e.g. Swisscom, UPC, Sunrise);
• the date and time of access; and
• technical access data, such as the name and URL of a referring PUBLICA web page, the time of accessing via a link and, where relevant, the search term used if access is via a search engine.

PUBLICA collects only the data that are necessary in order to offer users properly functioning portals and user-friendly content and services. The data gathered do not permit PUBLICA to make any inferences regarding the person concerned, and are retained in aggregated form for two years.

• Log files
  The following data are stored in log files when users access PUBLICA’s website and portals: IP address, date, time, browser request and general information on the device used, including operating system and browser. These data are evaluated using analytics tools. PUBLICA’s aims in so doing are to continually improve communication and to monitor operations.
• Web analytics
  PUBLICA uses the Matomo software solution for web analytics of non-personal data. Matomo is operated by Ops One AG in Zurich using managed servers at the company Metanet AG in Switzerland. Tracking using JavaScript and Pixel is carried out only within the domain publica.ch and remains under the full control of PUBLICA. All data remain in Switzerland. The data obtained are used exclusively for web analytics. They are not shared for other purposes or combined with other data sets.
• Cookies
  Cookies are small text files that are stored on the user’s device. PUBLICA uses cookies on its portals to enable use of the portals (session cookies) or to improve it (web analytics). Session cookies are deleted at the end of the browser session. Other cookies (persistent cookies) remain on the device and enable users to be recognised the next time they visit the page. If storage of session cookies has been blocked in the user’s browser, it will not be possible to use the portals.

Personal data and retention period

PUBLICA gathers the following personal data which are supplied by users themselves:

• last name, first name
• address
• OASI number
• family members
• nationality / place of citizenship
• financial circumstances
• languages
• assets/capital
• employer
• employment percentage
• date of birth
• disability (where applicable)

The data stored in the portal are retained for as long as the relevant legislation requires, in particular:

• the provisions of federal law on processing personal data when using electronic infrastructure (Government and Administration Organisation Act GAOA, Art. 57i – 57q [SR 172.010] and the Marginal Data Ordinance [SR 172.010.442]);
• the Federal Act on Occupational Old Age, Survivors’ and Invalidity Pensions (OPA) and the Federal Ordinance on Occupational Old Age, Survivors’ and Invalidity Pensions (OPO 2, SR 831.441.1, Art. 27j). PUBLICA is not required to retain any content not covered by that legislation. 

PUBLICA defines how long documents are available in the portal irrespective of the statutory retention requirement.

Contact form

There is a contact form on PUBLICA’s portal solutions which can be used to contact PUBLICA electronically. Where information is entered in the form and sent, this will be transmitted and stored together with technical information such as the IP address and the time of sending to PUBLICA.
The data transferred via the contact form are encrypted. Use of the form is voluntary. Data are only transmitted when the form is used. PUBLICA uses the information supplied to process the enquiry and for possible follow-up questions.

10. Place of jurisdiction

The place of jurisdiction is Bern.

II.       PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPECIFIC PORTALS

11. myPublica active member portal

What information is available on the myPublica active member portal?

• The myPublica active member portal offers active members insured with PUBLICA information about their insurance relationship.
• Once registered and for as long as they remain registered, active members will receive the information due to them each year under Article 86b OPA only via the online channel. This information includes
  • the pension certificate,
  • information about the organisation and financing 
    (key figures on PUBLICA, the member’s pension plan, investments),
  • the members of the Board of Directors.

Does the myPublica active member portal offer any other services?

• The portal also offers the following services:
  • pension account data updated daily
    (balance of retirement assets, termination benefits, amount of possible buy-ins);
  • simulations (buy-in, early withdrawal to finance home ownership, divorce) presented at the level of benefits (termination benefits, retirement, survivor’s or disability pension);
  • provision of offers for a buy-in and, once the decision to make a buy-in has been made, the invoice and confirmation that payment has been received.
• PUBLICA reserves the right to further develop the offerings in the my Publica active member portal in accordance with the needs of users.

12. myPublica pension recipient portal

What information is available on the myPublica pension recipient portal?

• The myPublica pension recipient portal offers persons receiving a retirement or disability pension the following functions:
• statements to download:
  • pension statement
  • tax statement
• uploading a confirmed life certificate to PUBLICA
• online notifications regarding
  • payment details (account into which the pension is paid)
  • contact information
  • changes of marital status
• PUBLICA reserves the right to further develop the offerings in the pension recipient portal in accordance with the needs of users.

13. Employer portal

Contents of the employer portal

• Employers affiliated to PUBLICA can access the following information and services exclusively via the employer portal:
  • contribution files for each insured person;
  • invoicing details (individual items in contribution invoices).
• PUBLICA may extend the data sharing services at any time.
• PUBLICA reserves the right to interrupt processes on the employer portal, or to make changes to their structure, contents or functionality, at any time and without consulting the affiliated employers.

Additional access authorisations for services and agents

• Affiliated employers
  • may delegate the administration of active members to internal services or third-party agents;
  • must make any changes (e.g. joining or leaving, internal transfers) affecting the access authorisation of staff of those services and agents promptly, by means of self-administration. If required, a written notification must be made to PUBLICA. Details of the procedure can be found on the website (publica.ch);
  • are answerable to PUBLICA for every use of the access and for the content of the information that they transmit or allow to be processed.

Responsibility of affiliated employers, services and agents

• Affiliated employers are responsible for ensuring that services and agents comply with these Terms of Use.
• PUBLICA will recognise users who gain access to the employer portal using valid means of authentication as having been authorised to use the portal by the affiliated employers. Transactions carried out by such users and the data transmitted in the course of them will be deemed by PUBLICA to have been authorised by the affiliated employers and to be correct and legally binding.

Registration, login, access identification for services and agents

All persons notified to PUBLICA by the affiliated employers as having been granted access authorisation receive personal, non-transferable access information.

Acknowledgement of the Terms of Use by services and agents

• Staff of the services and agents must comply with the Terms of Use (points 1– 10 and 13).
• Staff of the services or agents using the employer portal must acknowledge these Terms of Use and confirm to PUBLICA that they have done so.
• The same applies to amendments to the Terms of Use, unless the affiliated employer has refused to accept the amendment to the Terms of Use. Such refusal will result in the automatic cancellation of the access authorisations of staff of the services and agents of the employer concerned.

Data protection

PUBLICA processes the personal data supplied by the affiliated employers only in connection with the implementation of occupational pensions in accordance with the contract of affiliation. 

14. Governing body portal

Contents of the governing body portal

• Members of the Board of Directors and its committees, members of the parity commissions of the pension plans, chairs of the parity commissions of the pension plans and members of the Assembly of Delegates receive access exclusively via the governing body portal to information and services from the section of the portal for which they have received access authorisation.
• PUBLICA may make changes to the information offering at any time.
• PUBLICA reserves the right to make changes to the structure, contents or functionalities of the governing body portal at any time and without consulting the members of the governing bodies.

The Board of Directors and its committees

• Meeting documentation
• Documents related to resolutions of the supreme governing body
• Periodic reports (e.g. from the Investment Controller)
• Strategic documents and regulations of the Board of Directors
• Administrative documents

Chairs of the parity commissions

• Meeting documentation

Parity commissions

• Periodic reports
• Other documents, depending on the pension plan concerned

Assembly of Delegates

• Meeting documentation
• Regulations of the Assembly of Delegates and other legal bases 

Additional access authorisations (Board of Directors)

• Members of the Board of Directors and its committees may request personal access to the governing body portal for their assistant.
• They are answerable to PUBLICA for every use of the access by their assistant and for the contents of the information that they transmit or allow to be processed.
• They must notify PUBLICA of any changes to their assistant’s access authorisation promptly, by means of a written document bearing a legally binding signature. Details of the procedure can be found on the website (publica.ch).
• Assistants receive personal, non-transferable access information.
• They must
  • comply with the Terms of Use (points 1–10 and 14);
  • confirm to PUBLICA that they have acknowledged them.
• The same applies to amendments to the Terms of Use, unless the member of the body that requested access authorisation for them has refused to accept the amendment to the Terms of Use. Such refusal will also result in the immediate cancellation of the access authorisation granted to the assistant of the governing body member concerned.
• The members of the Board of Directors and its committees are responsible for ensuring that their assistant complies with these Terms of Use.
• PUBLICA will recognise users who gain access to the governing body portal using valid means of authentication as having been authorised to use the portal by the governing body member concerned.