Heidi › Cross-border workers
What happens to my 2nd pillar when I leave my Swiss job?
It does not disappear, and it is not paid out to you automatically. It moves to a vested benefits account, waiting either for a new Swiss employer or for your retirement.
And if you stay in France — or in any EU or EFTA country where you will be compulsorily insured — the mandatory portion stays locked. Only the extra-mandatory portion can be taken as a lump sum.
This is the classic nasty surprise for cross-border workers: you picture getting your whole capital back when you leave your Swiss job, and you find out that the larger part stays in Switzerland until you retire.
Mandatory and extra-mandatory
Only the second can be withdrawn if you stay in the EU or EFTA.
To get the Swiss tax back
On proof that the capital really was taxed in France.
Three situations, three outcomes
| What happens to you | What happens to your 2nd pillar |
|---|---|
| You change employer in Switzerland | Your savings are transferred to the new employer's pension fund. Nothing is lost, nothing comes out |
| You stop working in Switzerland but do not move away | Your savings go to a vested benefits account or policy, with the provider you choose |
| You leave Switzerland for good | Whether you can withdraw depends on where you go: see the table below |
Lump-sum withdrawal: what is possible
| Your situation after leaving | Mandatory portion | Extra-mandatory portion |
|---|---|---|
| You stay in the EU or EFTA and will be compulsorily insured there The case for most cross-border workers |
Locked until retirement | Withdrawal possible |
| You move outside the EU and EFTA | Withdrawal possible | Withdrawal possible |
| You are not covered by any compulsory insurance in the EU Living off a pension with no job, for instance |
Possible with supporting evidence | Withdrawal possible |
If you give no instructions, your savings end up transferred to the institution supplétive, where they usually earn very little. Nobody will chase you about it.
And forgotten savings are not lost, but they do lie idle: billions of francs are waiting for their owners in Switzerland.
The tax on a withdrawal
A lump-sum withdrawal is taxed separately from your other income, at a reduced rate. For someone living outside Switzerland, it is the canton where the foundation is based that collects the tax, at the time of payment.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Swiss withholding tax | Collected by the canton where the foundation is based. As a rough guide, from about 5% in the lowest cantons to about 7% in Geneva |
| 2. Taxation in France | If you opt for it, a levy of 7.5% after a 10% allowance. Otherwise, the progressive income tax scale |
| 3. Refund of the Swiss tax | On request, within three years, by proving that the capital was taxed in France |
The percentages are rough guides: the rate depends on the amount, the canton and your family situation. The French option is express and irrevocable.
Capital paid out by a public-law pension fund — cantonal, communal, or the federal fund — to someone of Swiss nationality, dual nationals included, stays taxable in Switzerland. In that case the Swiss tax is final and cannot be reclaimed.
What to do, and in what order
-
Ask for a breakdown of the two portions
Your pension certificate separates the mandatory savings from the extra-mandatory savings. Without that figure, you do not know what can come out.
-
Choose your vested benefits provider
Fees, returns, and above all the canton it is based in: that is what will set the tax on the day you withdraw. You can still transfer to another foundation as long as no withdrawal request has been filed — after that, it is too late.
-
Decide when
Lump sums received in the same year are added together for the tax calculation: 2nd pillar, 3rd pillar, and in most cantons your spouse's as well. Spreading withdrawals over two or three tax years cuts the bill considerably.
Choose the canton of your vested benefits foundation before you file any withdrawal request. It is the only lever that acts directly on the tax rate, and it closes as soon as the request is filed.
Two other points to check: a lump-sum withdrawal within three years of a buy-in loses you the tax deduction on that buy-in, and your spouse's written consent is compulsory for any lump-sum withdrawal.
The three most common mistakes
- Thinking you get everything back when you leave your job. For a cross-border worker, the mandatory portion stays locked until retirement.
- Letting your savings go to the institution supplétive. That is what happens when you give no instructions.
- Asking for the withdrawal before choosing your foundation. The canton it is based in sets the tax, and the choice cannot be made again afterwards.
Which portion can you take out, and how much would you have left after tax?
Heidi's cross-border mode works it out from your pension certificate.
The questionnaire, the rules that apply to you, the thresholds and the deadlines are free. The figures — net pay, the cascade, the cost of the commute — are in Heidi Plus.
Read next
- Retirement as a cross-border worker: AVS, the second pillar and the second right to choose
- Family allowances for cross-border workers: Switzerland or France?
- How does the Swiss three-pillar pension system work?
- Unemployment as a cross-border worker: where to register, who pays and how much?
- How much do you take home in Switzerland as a cross-border worker?
Sources
- Leaving Switzerland: what happens to a cross-border worker's 2nd pillar
- Withdrawing your 2nd pillar: cantonal tax, refunds and taxation in France
- Frontaliers Grand Est — Retirement for cross-border workers
Written by the Heidi team and updated on 13 November 2026. The tax rates quoted are rough guides and depend on the canton, the amount and your family situation. The rules on withdrawals and refunds come under Swiss law and the France–Switzerland tax treaty: check your own case with your pension institution and your tax office.