Useful information about the moneyland.ch pension vs. lump-sum withdrawal calculator:
- The pension vs. lump-sum withdrawal pension fund calculator makes it easy to find out whether or not withdrawing your pension savings as a lump sum is more profitable than leaving your benefits in your pension fund and receiving a regular pension based on those savings. You can also calculate the effects of partial withdrawals of pension fund savings based on the size of the lump-sum withdrawal to help you determine which option could be most profitable for you.
- The calculator, the most comprehensive Swiss pension calculator of its kind, accounts for many different factors including compulsory and voluntary pension savings with identical or varying conversion rates, full or partial withdrawal of pension fund savings in Swiss francs or as percentages, your age at the time of a lump-sum withdrawal as well as income tax, wealth tax and capital withdrawal tax.
- When you retire you have to choose if you will withdraw your pension fund benefits as a lump-sum and if so, how much of your savings you want to withdraw. The more pension fund benefits you withdraw, the lower your lifelong pension will be. Also note that each pension fund has its own regulations governing lump-sum withdrawals. You can find more useful information in the moneyland.ch guide to pensions vs. lump-sum withdrawals.
- Annuity income: If you withdraw your pension fund benefits as a lump sum, you will have to find ways to invest the money yourself (by depositing it into a savings account or investing through an investment fund account, for example). The calculator assumes that the withdrawn pension fund savings and possible capital gains are divided into identical payments which you “pay yourself” as a regular annuity until you reach the specified age. You will continue to receive a pension based on non-withdrawn benefits after the pension savings which you withdraw as a lump sum have been exhausted.
- Income tax: Taxes on your income after retirement. Income tax applies to your combined social security and pension fund pensions. Income tax (with the exception of possible capital gains taxes) does not apply to annuities from withdrawn pension fund savings. Municipal, cantonal and federal income tax rates are all determined by the marginal tax rates applicable to your income tax bracket. You can find more information on marginal tax rates here.
- Wealth tax: This tax typically applies to relatively large amounts of money and is levied on municipal and cantonal levels. You can use the online tax calculator provided by your cantonal tax office to find the exact rate applicable to your wealth. While the moneyland.ch calculator calculates wealth tax and capital gains tax exactly, results are based on average annual or monthly rates.
- Capital withdrawal tax: This one-time tax is levied for the tax year during which you withdraw retirement savings (pension fund or 3a savings) and applies to these assets alone. Important: If you want to enter the exact tax rate you will need to determine the cumulative municipal, cantonal and federal tax rate applicable to your lump-sum pension savings withdrawal. You can do this using the online tax calculator provided by your cantonal tax office.
The federal capital withdrawal tax is equal to 20% of the federal income tax rate. - Taxable returns on securities: Enter the portion of your pension savings which is made up of taxable returns on investments and qualifies as income for income tax purposes. These may include stock dividends or bond coupon payments, for example. Capital gains on private securities investments are not normally taxable (read the moneyland.ch guide to securities gains taxation for more information).
- Swiss franc amounts are calculated exactly based on data entered and rounded to the nearest 5 centimes. Rounding differences may occur.
- This calculator is provided as is for informative purposes only. Results do not in any way represent advice or recommendations. Each individual situation should be carefully reviewed on a case by case basis as there are many factors which may determine whether receiving a pension or making a lump-sum withdrawal makes more financial sense.
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