Hi,

Dumb question - I've changed employers, am I required to change pension plan or can I opt to stay with the one I already have ?

I'm wary of this - I changed employers four times in Australia and each time I lost money from having it moved around...ouch!

I took on a new employee recently he wanted to move his pension but the rep. from the new company said it wasn't possible...He tried as much as he could to move it obviously because he wanted the commission. I think it depends on the deal you currently have. Read your contract!

But my question is the opposite - am I *required* to change it with the new job (and use the employer's selected fund) or can I stay with the current one.

I don't really care, except that I was told that I was required to sign up to the new scheme, and I don't know if my advice was accurate...

I asked him to join mine so my own premiums would be a little less, I didn't insist, however I still think it comes down to the contract you currently have, I can only give my advice on what I have experienced. Sorry !

It's very highly that you have to change. Your former employee pension fund may not allow former employees to contribute to the fund. Your new employer will also have selected its own pension fund, and you need to contribute to it.
Usually, you don't loose anything when transferring the pension capital from one fund to another one.

You are required to change your pension plan from your old employer.

Whether to MUST transfer it to your new employer, I am not sure.
When you leave an employer, they give you a form to fill out. This
form will give you all the options.


If you do not give them details on where to transfer it, it goes into
a central trust. I just located money from an old employer so I know.

If you are working above a certain minimum number of hours per month (sorry, don't have the figure) you are obliged to join the pension scheme operated by your employer. Whether you transfer previously accrued vested benefits into this scheme, I believe is your choice. If coming from outside Switzerland, you can certainly retain what you already have as is (ie don't have to transfer it). If you are coming from another Swiss job, I believe you can opt to transfer into the new pension, or to a vested benefit account (Freizügigkeitskonto) - this is effectively an account which is blocked until retirement, just like a pension scheme.