The beneficiary issue in pillar 3a
Today, Art. 2 OPP 3 sets a strict list of beneficiaries in the event of death. The surviving spouse (or the registered partner) has priority and no derogation is possible. Even if the spouses had agreed to waive their inheritance rights, the pension assets automatically revert to them.
This rigidity poses a problem, especially in blended families, where the main concern is often to protect the children's assets from being diluted.
Postulate accepted by the Federal Council
In response to this situation, the Parliament has invited the Federal Council to examine a reform of the order of beneficiaries of the pillar 3a. The idea is to allow, with the consent of the parties concerned, the exclusion of the surviving spouse from the list of beneficiaries, in order to respect freely established inheritance agreements.
The Federal Council has proposed accepting this postulate, recognizing that current regulations no longer correspond to social realities and public expectations.
Towards greater flexibility in Pillar 3a
In the wake of this debate, the government is also implementing the conclusions of the report resulting from the Nantermod postulate (22.3220). As of January 1, 2027, holders of a 3a account or policy will be able to designate their children as priority beneficiaries, even if they are married or in a registered partnership. This new measure aims to:
- Meeting the needs of blended families
- Better align individual pension provision with the freedom of inheritance introduced by the reform of inheritance law in 2023
- Making the three-pillar system more coherent
What impact will this have on policyholders?
- Policyholders will have additional leeway to organize the transfer of their pension assets.
- Banks and insurance companies managing 3a assets will have to adapt their regulations by 2027.
- Agreements between spouses or partners can be better respected in practice.
