A 1e pension choice: include a job change in the investment horizon

Retirement age is not the only relevant date

A 1e pension arrangement can allow an eligible employee to choose the investment strategy for the higher-salary component covered by that arrangement. It is not an ordinary bank portfolio and does not replace the whole occupational pension system. Current FCT information and the OFAS policy explanation were checked on 16 October 2026. The key planning issue is that the employee bears the investment outcome, including possible losses reflected in the exit value. A person may be decades from retirement but only a year from a new employer. That shorter, uncertain date deserves attention before selecting the most growth-oriented option.

Read the menu and the exit rules together

Ask HR and the institution to identify the eligible salary component, contributions, available strategies, all charges and risk benefits. Request the actual regulations explaining what happens when you leave and what information the next institution needs. A menu containing several risk levels is not proof that each level suits your circumstances. Check how the low-risk choice is defined rather than treating it as a promise against every loss or inflation. Compare strategy factsheets on a consistent basis, including currency and concentration exposures. The practical question is which fluctuations you can tolerate while complying with pension-transfer obligations, not which recent performance figure looks highest.

An invented loss before a move

Suppose a participant has CHF 200,000 in the investment component and a hypothetical market decline reduces it by 15 percent before an employment move. That leaves CHF 170,000 before other movements and charges. Recovering from CHF 170,000 to CHF 200,000 would require approximately 17.6 percent growth, not 15 percent. This is arithmetic, not a forecast or a statement about any strategy’s expected return. It shows why the timing of an exit can matter even to someone comfortable with long-term equity investing. Ask what must be transferred and when; do not assume the next employer offers the same strategy or that waiting is always permitted.

Do not turn a legislative proposal into an entitlement

The linked OFAS communication of 5 December 2025 describes a government message proposing a temporary vested-benefits route in certain 1e job changes. It is evidence of a proposal and the problem it addresses, not, by itself, confirmation of a current right to hold the money back for two years. Before relying on any flexibility, obtain the institution’s current legal basis and written instructions. This dossier does not treat the proposal as enacted law. A transfer plan should remain workable under the rules actually applicable on the leaving date, rather than depending on a reform discussed in an article or presentation.

For context, the linked Le Temps report of 23 June 2025 discusses the tradeoff between individual choice and risk. Read it alongside the later official message, not as a current transfer instruction.

Choose a strategy with a review trigger

Write down the purpose of the chosen risk level, expected holding period, tolerance for a fall and foreseeable employment changes. Review that record after a material change, not automatically after every market movement. A more cautious strategy may reduce some market exposure while limiting growth potential; a more volatile one can create difficult choices near an exit. Neither choice guarantees a better outcome. Ask Clearwise to compare the pension arrangement as a whole, including costs and protection, with the investment decision clearly separated. The useful result is an informed choice and a workable transfer process, not the impression that individual control removes retirement-planning risk.