PensUnit – Collective Foundation
Our pension solution with a standardised strategy for employees with an annual salary of CHF 90'720.– (as at 2026) or more.
Your benefits with PensUnit
Making you more attractive as an employer: Position yourself as a forward-thinking company and increase long-term retention of your management staff with flexible pension solutions.
Tax benefits for your management and senior staff: Due to the redistribution in the second pillar, a tax-efficient management pension plan is an important criterion for more and more senior staff. We are more than happy to assist you in tax planning and choosing the right instruments.
Uniform investment strategy PensUnit offers your pension fund a range of collective investment strategies tailored to its risk profile. Each pension fund member participates equally in the investment returns of the selected strategy.
Tax savings for your company: Build up reserves through employer contributions and reduce your tax burden in weaker economic periods. Meanwhile, employer contributions of over 50% offer you additional tax benefits and increase staff retention.
How does PensUnit work?
Find out how employer contributions of over 50%, employer contribution reserves, collective fluctuation reserves and the right advice on the optimum strategy for drawing salary and dividends can achieve tangible tax benefits and thus strengthen your pension provision.
Tax advantage 1: Employer contributions of more than half
In a «Bel Etage» pension solution, the employer often pays the majority of the pension contribution. Increasing the employer’s portion of pension contributions to more than half instead of a salary increase creates genuine tax benefits for employers and employees.
Tax advantage 2: Employer contribution reserves
Affiliated companies can build up employer contribution reserves in the PensUnit pension fund. This is beneficial for the following reasons: You can reduce your company’s profit when earnings are high by accumulating reserves and can then fall back on these employer contribution reserves during more difficult times. Cantonal tax regulations on these reserves also always need to be observed.
Tax advantage 3: Collective fluctuation reserves
In our “Bel Etage” PensUnit foundation, the employer is obliged to build up a collective fluctuation reserve for its pension fund. This serves as a buffer against any deficit in your management pension fund. The reserve’s target volume depends on the investment strategy that is selected. This build-up of reserves creates safety and stability in the pension fund in the event of a deficit. You also reduce your taxable profit.
Tax advantage 4: AHV/AVS salary versus dividend
- The advantages of an AHV/AVS salary are as follows: The higher the AHV/AVS salary, the better the risk benefits in the event of death and disability and the higher the retirement benefits in the 2nd pillar. In addition, the higher the insured AHV/AVS salary, the greater the purchase shortfallls in the management pension plan and the greater the tax benefits in making up the shortfall.
- The advantages of dividend distribution: Dividends receive preferential tax treatment if the shareholder has a participation of at least 10%.
But should you pay a higher AHV/AVS salary or a higher dividend as a business owner? There is no simple answer to this. Each individual case has to be checked on its merits.
Freedom of choice thanks to splitting
In times of large systemic redistribution of occupational pension benefits, individual pension models are a “must” for every company. Over time, managers and talented employees have become less willing for their extra-mandatory pension contributions to help finance the excessively high conversion rate and minimum interest rate guarantee in the mandatory second pillar.
Attractive risk premiums
Pure saving and investment plans are not permitted in a management pension plan. To ensure compliance with the insurance principle, the risk premiums must amount to at least 4% of the total premiums. All death and disability risk benefits are 100% reinsured with Mobiliar. Mobiliar is also the reinsurance partner of the PensFlex collective foundation. As a result, PensUnit clients enjoy extremely attractive risk premiums.
PensUnit offers your pension fund a range of collective investment strategies tailored to its risk profile. Each pension member participates equally in the investment returns of the selected strategy.
Selected specialist partner banks offer BVV/OPP 2-compliant collective investment strategies in line with your risk profile. The following banks are part of our select partner network:
Flexible investment choice even for reserves
Both the collective fluctuation reserves to be accumulated by the company and the voluntary employer contribution reserves can be managed in a separate custodian account on behalf of the pension fund. The pension fund can also select the investment strategy separately for each custodian account.
A separate management pension plan is an important criterion for managers due to the redistribution in the 2nd pillar. Is someone in your company planning to buy into the pension fund or take early retirement? We would be happy to help you choose the right instruments.
An affiliated pension fund refers to a member company within a pension fund. The employer, the employees (i.e. the insured persons) and the pensioners are all members of this affiliated fund. Around 1,000 independent pension funds are affiliated with PensUnit.
PensExpert focuses on interpersonal relationships rather than just compliance.
Roger Huber
Owner and managing director, xls exclusive leadership support GmbH
Further forms can also be found on PensPortal (employers) or myPensPortal (pension fund members).
FAQs on PensUnit
The PensUnit collective foundation, also known as the uniform strategy solution, is suitable for companies who want to offer an individual and tailor-made pension solution for their staff.
The PensUnit collective foundation is always managed in combination with a basic pension scheme.
It therefore always comprises at least two occupational benefits institutions and an insured person’s pension assets are therefore held by at least two such institutions.
You are eligible to join a PensUnit collective foundation with an AHV/AVS salary of CHF 90'720.– or above (2026 figures).
There are a few exceptions that even allow employees who earn less than CHF 90'720.– (2026 figures) to join a PensUnit collective foundation. We would be happy to advise you on the various options.
The pension plan, concluded between the company and the PensUnit collective foundation, governs all the details of who is covered by a PensUnit solution.
The membership criteria can be selected individually and customised by the affiliated company within the scope of pensions law.
Every affiliated company can independently choose the risks to be covered in the pension plan.
For example, if a company does not want a surviving spouse’s/partner’s pension to be covered, this can be arranged accordingly. However, the statutory risk cover within an occupational pension scheme must of course be included.
The selected investment strategy can be changed by the Pension Fund Commission at any time. Depending on risk tolerance and risk capacity, there may be a desire for a different investment strategy after a certain period of time.
The PensUnit collective foundation offers its affiliated companies access to selected partner banks. Each company decides independently and individually which partner bank should manage the pension assets.
If there is a purchase shortfall, this shortfall can be financed with private funds. The personal purchase shortfall is listed on the annual insurance certificate.
The timing of implementation can be selected individually. As it usually requires coordination with the basic pension plan, many companies decide to implement it as of 1 January or 1 July.
