EU country

Since 1 June 2007, in accordance with the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU, it is no longer possible, in the event of permanent migration to an EU or EFTA country, for the compulsory component of vested benefits to be paid in cash as long as the person is subject to the social insurance scheme in the destination country.

This restriction does not affect any non-compulsory vested benefit capital (ie extending beyond the BVG minimum). The non-compulsory component can still be paid in cash subject to submission of the required documents.

You can find your FSOPP savings capital and the non-compulsory amount of your savings capital on the second page of your insurance benefit statement.

This provision applies for all persons, regardless of nationality, who leave Switzerland permanently and migrate to an EU/EFTA country, as well as for cross-border commuters, who are also resident in an EU country.

Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK) concluded a new social security agreement on September 9, 2021. The agreement is intended to ensure the long-term coordination of the social security systems of the two countries after Brexit. It fully came into force on 1 October 2023. However, in the opinion of the FSIO, cash payments of vested benefits will not be covered by the new social security agreement. In the future, persons who definitively leave Switzerland for the UK will therefore be able to claim their vested benefits (both the part above the BVG minimum part as well as the BVG minimum part) as a cash payment, in contrast to a departure to a country of the EU.