Planning Library
Swiss financial planning — explained clearly.
Free guides to Switzerland's financial system, written for professionals and expats. Create a free account to apply any of it to your own numbers.
Article series
Moving to Switzerland
The first 90 days nobody puts on the job offer — arrival cash, your first payslip, insurance, taxes, pensions and money still held abroad.
6 articles + a free practical guide →
Your Financial Baseline
Know where you stand before deciding what to optimise — cashflow, accessible liquidity, pensions, investment readiness and property, with a confidence label on every number.
5 articles + a free practical guide →
The Swiss Financial System
AHV, Pillar 2, Pillar 3a, Quellensteuer — the foundational concepts every Swiss resident needs to understand.
5 min read
The Three-Pillar System — Why Switzerland Is Different
Switzerland funds retirement through three legally distinct layers. Most residents only understand one of them. Here is how all three fit together.
6 min read
Pillar 2 (BVG) — Your Occupational Pension Without the Jargon
You are enrolled automatically. Contributions leave your payslip every month. But what is your pension fund actually doing with that money?
5 min read
Pillar 3a — The Tax Deduction Most People Underuse
CHF 7,258 per year, fully deductible from taxable income. Most Swiss residents contribute too late, too little, or into the wrong account type.
6 min read
Quellensteuer — How Source Tax Works and When You Should File a Return
Most non-Swiss residents are taxed at source. The system is simple — but it may cost you thousands in missed deductions every year.
Cash Flow & Monthly Money
Savings rates, emergency funds, monthly allocation, and building a money system that runs itself.
4 min read
What Is a Savings Rate and Why Does 15–20% Matter in Switzerland?
CHF 800 per month saved from age 35 reaches CHF 670,000 by age 65. The same amount starting at 45 reaches CHF 330,000. The maths of savings rate is unforgiving.
4 min read
The Emergency Fund — How Much, Where, and Why It Comes First
Three to six months of fixed expenses in liquid cash. Not invested. Not in Pillar 3a. This is the foundation every other financial decision depends on.
4 min read
The Three-Bucket Allocation — A Simple Framework for Your Monthly Surplus
After fixed expenses and savings automation, what do you do with what is left? A three-bucket framework makes the decision once — so you never make it again.
3 min read
The Swiss Financial Calendar — Eight Dates That Matter Every Year
Pillar 3a deadline, tax return season, pension statement review, bonus season. Eight dates that repeat every year — and the financial action each one requires.
5 min read
Dual-Income Household Finance — How to Structure Money When Both Partners Earn
Two salaries, two sets of deductions, two Pillar 2 accounts, one shared life. How to organise your finances as a couple in Switzerland without friction.
4 min read
A good income is not the same as healthy cashflow
A high salary can fund a strong financial life. It can also fund a very expensive waiting room. The baseline question: what does the household consistently keep after normal life?
4 min read
Your emergency buffer: how much of your money is actually available?
Your net worth cannot pay a bill. One of its components can. Start from your own core expenses and genuinely accessible cash — not a universal magic number.
Investing in Switzerland
From investment readiness to asset allocation, ETF selection, and the behavioural rules that protect your portfolio.
5 min read
Investment Readiness — The Five Conditions That Must Come First
Most people start investing before they are ready. The five conditions for investment readiness are sequential — skip one and the whole structure is fragile.
5 min read
Risk Capacity vs. Risk Tolerance — Why They Are Different and Why Both Matter
Risk capacity is how much loss you can absorb financially. Risk tolerance is how much you can absorb psychologically. The lower of the two governs your allocation.
5 min read
Asset Allocation — What It Means and Why It Explains 90% of Your Returns
Whether you hold 60% equities or 80% equities explains the vast majority of your long-term investment outcome. Here is how to think about the split.
5 min read
The Investment Policy Statement — Why DIY Investors Should Have One
A written investment policy statement is what separates investors who stay disciplined during market falls from those who panic. Here is what it must contain.
6 min read
Behavioural Finance for Swiss Investors — The Five Biases That Destroy Returns
Loss aversion, recency bias, home bias, overconfidence, and inaction. Five well-documented patterns — and the rules that protect your portfolio from each one.
4 min read
Are you ready to invest? The answer may be outside your portfolio
If you are asking “Which fund?”, you may already be answering the wrong question. Whether the money is ready matters more than where it goes.
Property in Switzerland
The 20% equity rule, mortgage affordability, amortisation strategy, and what buying property in Switzerland really involves.
5 min read
The 20% Equity Rule — What It Actually Means and Where the Money Must Come From
Swiss mortgage law requires 20% equity. But at least half must come from non-pension sources. Understanding this split changes how you plan your savings.
5 min read
The Swiss Mortgage Affordability Stress Test — How Banks Assess Whether You Can Afford a Property
Swiss banks do not use the actual mortgage rate to assess affordability. They use a theoretical 5% stress rate. This single rule defines your maximum purchase price.
5 min read
Direct vs. Indirect Amortisation — The Pillar 3a Strategy Many Buyers Miss
Instead of repaying your mortgage directly, you can pledge a Pillar 3a account and claim the tax deduction every year. Here is how it works and when it makes sense.
4 min read
Property readiness: what would a purchase consume?
The bank can tell you whether a mortgage fits its rules. It cannot tell you whether the home fits the rest of your financial life. And renting is a housing choice, not a failed module.
Pensions & Tax
Pension buy-ins, Pillar 3a timing, canton tax comparison, and the planning opportunities most residents miss.
6 min read
The Pension Buy-In — Why Voluntary Pillar 2 Contributions Are Switzerland's Best Tax Break
Voluntary contributions to your occupational pension are fully tax-deductible. For higher earners in high-rate cantons, the effective return on the tax saving alone is material.
4 min read
Pensions and long-term wealth: what are you already building?
Your pension is part of your wealth. It is just terrible emergency cash. Map the three layers, record more than the balance, and keep foreign entitlements visible.
The Expat in Switzerland
The specific intersection of international professional life and the Swiss financial system — explained clearly in English.
4 min read
Your first 90 days: the financial setup that changes when you move
A job offer gives you one beautifully clean number: salary. Real life then adds tax collection, payroll deductions, insurance, pensions and the baggage you brought across the border.
3 min read
Before the first Swiss salary: build an arrival cash buffer
Relocation sends the expensive things first. Deposits, first rent and moving costs can land before a full salary cycle — a great salary can still make month one feel strangely broke.
3 min read
Your first Swiss payslip: what is deducted, what is not, and what to check
Your payslip is boring. Treat it like evidence: a map of what the system already does for you — and a warning label for the big costs it does not.
3 min read
Health insurance and accident cover: two systems newcomers often mix up
The Swiss answer to “Am I insured?” is: against what? The first job is not comparing providers. It is separating illness from accident.
3 min read
Taxes after you move: source tax, ordinary assessment and money still abroad
Tax coming out of your salary is convenient. It is not closure. First question: how is tax collected, which canton is responsible, and what still has to be declared?
3 min read
Pensions after arrival: AHV, occupational pension and old entitlements
Pensions are not a “later” problem — they are on your payslip now. AHV, occupational pension, old vested benefits and foreign entitlements each need their own line.