Comparison of interest rates for pillar 3a apps
Pillar 3a is ideal for long-term wealth accumulation through investments. It is important to have low investment costs and a competitive market interest rate here because not everyone is 100 percent invested in securities for the entire investment period. We compared the costs and interest rates of Swiss pension apps for 2025.
Pillar 3a is an important cornerstone of retirement provision, allowing you to make tax-privileged provisions for the future. Pension apps offer a modern and convenient solution, featuring fully digital account opening and management. Employees with income subject to AHV contributions can claim a maximum amount of CHF 7'258 for tax purposes in 2025 and 2026.
In addition to securities returns and investment costs, the interest rate on the cash portion also plays an important role. Even small differences can have a significant impact on your saved capital over time due to the compound interest effect.
While pure 3a savings accounts are free of charge, 3a apps are designed for securities-based retirement provision and charge a management fee on the assets – with the exception of True Wealth. With some pension apps, the total interest rate may therefore turn negative after fees have been deducted. It is also important to check whether the provider allows investments in the «cash» asset class at all.
For pillar 3a, the management fee at True Wealth is 0.0%, i.e., the effective interest rate on cash corresponds to the interest rate of 0.45% (as of October 2025).
How do 3a apps differ from traditional pension funds?
Digital providers allow customers to open and manage their pillar 3a accounts via an app or web browser. Traditional pension funds are subscribed to through your bank and have an ISIN.
While a pension fund involves choosing a single product, digital providers offer an investment strategy based on a bundle of instruments such as index funds and ETFs. At True Wealth, this enables faster adjustments and more precise alignment with your personal risk profile.
True Wealth selects the investment instruments for each market segment independently and screens the market for the optimal ETF or index fund in each case. Banks, on the other hand, distribute their own funds.
Pension funds often come with a range of additional fees, such as issue and redemption commissions, which do not exist when trading liquid investment instruments.
Digital 3a solutions are much cheaper and more transparent than pension funds, which charge total costs of over one percent. At True Wealth, not only the instruments held are reported in detail, but also the companies held within them.
What else should you bear in mind?
If your investment horizon is short, you could consider a fixed-interest 3a savings account instead of a securities-based investment. Or a 3a app that offers a market-driven interest rate on the cash portion.
The securities you invest in via Swiss pension apps are known as special assets. In the event of a bank bankruptcy, these are not included in the bankruptcy estate and remain yours.
Pillar 3a is popular in Switzerland, and it is worth making regular contributions. Below, Felix Niederer presents True Wealth's Pillar 3a and explains how conveniently this pension solution is integrated into digital wealth management (video in German with English subtitles).
About the author
Founder and CEO of True Wealth. After graduating from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) as a physicist, Felix first spent several years in Swiss industry and then four years with a major reinsurance company in portfolio management and risk modeling.
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