PensionCompass

You compare your forecast income with your planned living costs, to see whether the money you have coming in will cover your outgoings.

An annuity, a lump sum or a combination of the two can have different tax implications. PensionCompass accounts for factors such as income taxes, wealth taxes, the one-time, lump-sum payout tax and taxes payable on income from private investments. It models your tax burden over your expected lifetime.

An annuity from your pension fund is paid for life. To compare its financial value with a lump-sum withdrawal, PensionCompass calculates what is known as the interest guarantee. It shows, in simplified form, the arithmetical return on a lifelong pension solution.

This interest guarantee is compared with the historical net return on a private investment. If you choose a lump sum rather than an annuity and invest the capital yourself, you need at least the same net return over the long term for the lump-sum withdrawal to be equivalent to, or better than, the alternative from a financial perspective.

When you withdraw a lump sum and invest it, you also bear the investment risk. PensionCompass therefore takes account of both your financial situation and your personal risk tolerance.

For your calculation to be as meaningful as possible, you should ideally have:

• your current pension certificate
• your most recent tax declaration
• a state pension forecast, if available
• for couples, this information for both parties.

If you don’t yet have all the information to hand, you can make an estimate for individual items and adjust them later.

Get an overview of the advantages and risks of an annuity (pension), a lump sum and a combination of the two.

Map out your financial situation and compare the various withdrawal options.

Look at all the results together. This will give you a sound basis for your personal decision.

You can change your information at any time to try out and compare a range of scenarios.

If you have any questions about your pension benefits or interpreting the results, contact your personal pension advisor at PUBLICA.

PensionCompass is offered by the Swiss Pension Funds Association ASIP. ASIP represents the interests of Swiss pension funds and campaigns for strong, reliable occupational pensions.

PensionCompass offers neutral, pension fund-independent guidance to help users decide on a lump sum or an annuity.

The Swiss Pension Funds Association ASIP has developed PensionCompass to help active members from a range of Swiss pension funds. It uses simplified assumptions to examine different pension solutions in a standardised way.

For this reason, the calculation does not reflect all the benefits and regulations applicable to Publica. Depending on your personal situation, your actual benefits may deviate from the results presented.

Use PensionCompass to give you initial guidance. For a calculation based on your personal pension situation, go to myPublica or seek personal advice from Publica.

Retirement before or after 65

The calculation assumes that you retire at the age of 65. PensionCompass does not allow for earlier or later retirement and the financial impact of that choice.

Benefits for life partners

PensionCompass does not take account of life partnerships giving rise to a pension entitlement. For this reason, potential survivors’ benefits for life partners are not factored into the calculation.

Level of survivor’s pension

PensionCompass assumes a survivor’s pension amounting to 60% of the retirement pension. Under Publica’s pension plan regulations, the survivor’s pension for spouses and eligible life partners is normally two thirds of the retirement pension.

For this reason, the value of the pension solution shown in PensionCompass is lower than the benefits actually provided by Publica.

Benefits for children

PensionCompass does not take account of retired persons’ child’s pensions and survivors’ child’s pensions. If there is an entitlement to such benefits, the total value of the pension benefits may be higher than shown in PensionCompass.

What does this mean for your result?

In these personal circumstances, PensionCompass may underestimate the value of the pension solution. You should therefore view the results as general guidance.

The actual benefits and withdrawal options available to you will ultimately depend on Publica’s calculations based on your personal pension relationship.

Free of charge and free from advertising

The Swiss Pension Funds Association ASIP makes PensionCompass available free of charge. The platform is advertising-free and does not pursue any commercial interests.

Neutral

PensionCompass will not recommend a particular type of withdrawal to you. It highlights interconnections and financial implications. The actual decision is yours.

Personal

The calculations are based on the information you provide. In the case of couples, they[GS1]  also take account of your joint financial situation.

Confidential

PensionCompass uses your information solely for the calculations and deletes it once your session ends.

Model-based

In addition to your information, the results are based on statistical, historical and tax assumptions. They are for guidance only, and offer no guarantee of future developments.

Not an investment recommendation

The information and investment strategies presented are purely for guidance. They are not an individual investment recommendation.