Sustainable retirement planning: take control of your future

Retirement planning is a major topic in politics and the media. Switzerland’s changing demographics are one of the main reasons. People are living longer while birth rates continue to fall. As a result, fewer working people are supporting more retirees. This is placing increasing pressure on Switzerland’s retirement system.

Private retirement planning is therefore becoming increasingly important if you want to maintain your standard of living in retirement. Pillar 3a offers an opportunity to build retirement savings while benefiting from tax advantages. Starting early can give you greater financial security and flexibility for the future.

Our tip: Use our retirement calculator to find out whether you have a pension gap and how you can close it.

More people want their investments to reflect sustainability considerations as well as financial returns. You can invest in companies that manage environmental impact, show social responsibility and are committed to good governance. These factors are commonly referred to as ESG.

Sustainable investment products generally exclude companies that operate in controversial sectors, such as coal or tobacco. They also invest selectively in companies that promote sustainable solutions, for example in renewable energy, education, healthcare or recycling. This lets you use your retirement capital to support positive change.

As with any investment, opportunities and risks play an important role in sustainable investing.

Companies with clear sustainability strategies and responsible corporate governance are often better prepared for economic and social developments. Climate change, stricter regulation and changing social expectations can increasingly affect companies. Companies that act sustainably early are often more resilient in the face of such changes.

Sustainable investments can also help reduce certain risks. Companies active in controversial business areas or with elevated ESG risks are often excluded. They also place greater emphasis on companies focused on long-term, sustainable solutions.

Nevertheless, sustainable investments also involve risks. Market fluctuations cannot be avoided, and sustainable funds can lose value too. That is why it is important to consider your risk tolerance, investment horizon and retirement goals when choosing the right solution.

Equities can be particularly attractive as part of a long-term investment strategy, which often applies when saving for retirement. Over a long saving period, you can benefit from the compound interest effect, which may increase your potential returns. If you start investing in equities early, even small amounts can help you build wealth over time.

Our UBS Vitainvest Investment Funds incorporate sustainability considerations into the investment process. Five criteria make these funds a compelling choice for sustainable investors:

With UBS Vitainvest funds, you can benefit from return opportunities through broad diversification across multiple asset classes. You can choose between actively and passively managed funds.

Actively managed funds rely on the expertise of fund managers who invest selectively in specific securities. 

Professional asset management in active funds is available without a minimum investment amount, so you can start flexibly. Investment income in retirement solutions remains tax-free until withdrawal, which can offer additional benefits. When you retire, you can use the accumulated assets flexibly to meet your personal needs.

In passive funds, investments are not selected by a fund manager. Instead, these funds aim to replicate a reference index as closely as possible. The objective is to track the index cost-efficiently and transparently.

Depending on the underlying index, passive funds can also provide broad diversification across asset classes, sectors and regions. Retirement investors can benefit from tax advantages and simple, flexible access to long-term wealth accumulation. Because they require less management, passive funds generally have lower costs than actively managed solutions.

You can invest your pillar 3a retirement assets in sustainable fund solutions. They are also suitable for vested benefits accounts within pillar 2 and savings held in pillar 3b.

Depending on your risk profile and investment horizon, UBS Vitainvest Sustainable Funds are available with equity allocations of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%.

As a rule: A higher equity allocation means more return potential, but also greater potential fluctuations in value.

Important: If you invest in funds, be aware that they can fluctuate significantly in value. The value of a fund unit may fall below its purchase price.