Consulting by the Civil Service Insurance Fund of the Canton of Zurich (BVK)

In the last Economico Flash 9, we highlighted the fact that your own pension fund is an exciting place to seek advice on financial and pension matters due to its independence.

What specific advisory services can you expect from your pension fund? As the largest pension fund in Switzerland, BVK has given us some insight. Thank you very much!

First of all, BVK advisors are available free of charge for personal consultations on all BVG-specific matters, be it questions about the occurrence of a BVG-relevant scenario (disability; death; departure; divorce; retirement) or questions about the insured person's options under the BVK pension plan (purchase; early withdrawal; lump-sum withdrawal on retirement; choice of savings plan; choice of pension model).

BVK now also offers comprehensive pension advice that also includes the life partner in the analysis. This advice is offered at a cost-covering and, in our view, moderate fee of CHF 1’200 to CHF 1’500.

BVK also offers its insured persons the powerful myBVK portal as a digital self-service, which allows insured persons to carry out their own analyses and simulations of purchases, early withdrawals and plan adjustments tailored to their personal retirement assets and income. The analysis functionality of myBVK includes personalized AHV and tax calculations.

Finally, BVK puts a great deal of effort into information, documentation and communicating pension knowledge. This is evidenced by the numerous and elaborately produced information sheets, webinars, explanatory videos and structured decision-making aids on the BVK website.

To date, BVK has been reluctant to evaluate and recommend private pension products – be it the choice of investment or insurance solutions for lump-sum withdrawals or the evaluation and recommendation of 3a and/or vested benefits products. BVK justifies this restraint with the primacy of its independence. As an insured person of BVK, advice on these specific product and service decisions must be obtained elsewhere.