Occupational pensions: the changes decided on 12 June 2026 and their implications

On June 12, 2026, the Federal Council amended three pension ordinances: OPP 2, OPP 3, and the ordinance on vested benefits. The package does not constitute a new general reform of the LPP. It brings targeted corrections, with staggered entry into force between August 1, 2026, and January 1, 2030.

For employers and insured persons, two traps should be avoided. The first is to believe that all the rules have changed immediately. The second would be to confuse these adjustments with the LPP reform rejected in the vote on September 22, 2024. The entry threshold, coordination deduction, and legal conversion rate are not revised by the June 12 package.

The most visible short-term consequence concerns the 13th AVS pension: it should not alone cause a reduction in future benefits of the second pillar during the assessment of the adequacy of a pension plan. In the medium term, the most concrete change for individuals affects the designation of beneficiaries of pillar 3a and, to a lesser extent, of vested benefits.

Four dates to remember

13th AVS pension: no mechanical reduction of the second pillar

The OPP 2 provides for a review of the adequacy of retirement planning. For salaries exceeding the upper limit set by the LPP, the statutory old-age benefits of the AVS and professional retirement planning must not exceed 85% of the last salary subject to AVS before retirement.

Without correction, the 13th AVS pension would have increased the amount considered in this test and could have reduced the available margin in certain retirement plans. The Federal Council therefore decided not to count this additional benefit in the adequacy model. This measure thus respects the objective of the 13th pension: to improve AVS income without indirectly compressing future professional benefits.

This rule is not a universal cap on the pension of every retiree. It aims at reviewing the retirement plan and mainly concerns solutions with a significant mandatory component or covering high salaries. It also does not change the calculation formula for regular employee contributions.

Consequence for the employer: no retroactive payroll correction is required solely due to this modification. The pension institution and its expert must, however, incorporate the new rule into the assessment of the adequacy of the regulation.

Consequence for the insured: the 13th AVS pension must not, by itself, lead to a reduction in future LPP benefits on the grounds that the 85% limit would be exceeded. The effective level remains governed by the fund's regulations, the mandatory or supplementary mandatory portion, the financing, and the individual situation.

Repo operations: a new liquidity tool, under strict limits

A repo operation consists, in simplified terms, of temporarily transferring securities in exchange for cash, with the commitment to repurchase them at an agreed date and price. For a pension fund, this instrument can prevent the hasty sale of investments to cover a very short-term liquidity need.

Since August 1, 2026, OPP 2 allows these operations in two frameworks:

• up to 1% of total assets for liquidity management;
• up to 3% of total assets for a liquidity need arising from foreign exchange hedging operations, for 30 calendar days at most .

Systematic indebtedness remains prohibited. The limit, the short duration, and the link to a liquidity need are precisely aimed at preventing the repo from becoming a permanent means of creating leverage.

In practice, this facility will mainly interest large institutions with appropriate cash management, guarantees, and control processes. The setup and monitoring costs can be disproportionate for a small fund. For the insured and their employer, this does not result in a direct change to the contribution or benefit. The issue is rather the quality of governance: liquidity policy, counterparties, securities, internal limits, and reporting.

Pillar 3a: more choices for beneficiaries starting in 2027

The most personal change in the package will come into effect on June 1, 2027. It concerns the order of beneficiaries in the event of the death of a pillar 3a holder.

Today, the surviving spouse or registered partner takes precedence over second-tier beneficiaries. These include direct descendants, the person who lived with the deceased continuously for the five years preceding the death, the person who must provide for the maintenance of a common child, as well as individuals substantially supported by the deceased.

Starting June 1, 2027, the holder will be able to elevate one or more individuals from this second tier to the first tier, alongside the spouse or registered partner. However, a limit protects each designated person: when multiple first and second-tier beneficiaries share the assets, each must receive at least 10%.

Example: a married holder has CHF 120,000 in her pillar 3a and wishes to favor her two children while protecting her spouse. Upon entry into force, she can allocate 80% to her spouse and 10% to each of the two children. A distribution of 90%, 9%, and 1% would not meet the minimum share.

The change does not occur automatically. The form or channel provided by the banking foundation or insurance institution must be used. A designation validly made under the old law remains subject to it in principle. However, its modification after June 1, 2027, will trigger the application of the new requirements.

For blended families, couples with common children outside of marriage, or individuals financially supporting a relative, this flexibility deserves a coordinated review with the will, marriage or partnership contract, and death insurance. Pillar 3a is not simply part of the ordinary estate: its beneficiary clause must therefore be examined separately.

Portability and divorce: two more technical adjustments

The vested benefits of free passage will also receive, starting June 1, 2027, a minimum share of 10% for each designated person among the first groups of beneficiaries. Holders of multiple policies or accounts should separately inventory their clauses: an instruction given to a foundation is not necessarily known to others.

Since August 1, 2026, the ordinance on free passage also clarifies the calculation of the benefit to be shared in the event of divorce. The determining date is that of the introduction of the divorce proceedings, in accordance with the law on free passage. This correction aligns the regulatory text with the legal rule and reduces a technical ambiguity; it does not change the principle of sharing.

The terminology adjustments related to partial liquidations will only come into effect on January 1, 2030. They mainly concern institutions, supervisory authorities, and their controls.

What the June 12 package does not change

The vote on September 22, 2024, rejected the LPP reform. The ordinances adopted on June 12, 2026, do not reintroduce it through an indirect route. They do not modify, in particular:

• the entry threshold into mandatory occupational pension provision;
• the coordination deduction;
• the rates of old-age benefits according to age;
• the minimum legal conversion rate of 6.8% in the mandatory part;
• the minimum LPP interest rate of 1.25% applicable in 2026.

What should employers and insured individuals do?

For the employer or HR manager

1. Read the communication from the pension fund and identify whether the plan includes a mandatory component or covers high salaries.
2. Do not modify payroll or contributions solely based on the rule regarding the 13th AVS pension.
3. Ask the fund if its regulations or adequacy certificate needs to be updated.
4. Present the package as a series of targeted adjustments, rather than as a comprehensive reform of the LPP.

For the insured, the self-employed, or the manager

1. Obtain the current pension certificate and distinguish between mandatory and non-mandatory benefits.
2. Inventory the pillar 3a accounts and policies as well as the vested benefits.
3. Review the beneficiary clauses as June 1, 2027 approaches, especially in the presence of a blended family, a partner, or multiple descendants.
4. In the event of divorce, keep proof of the date the procedure was initiated and promptly provide the information to the relevant institutions.
5. For a manager of a corporation or limited liability company, keep in mind that the level of insured salary influences pension planning. Our articles on the choice between sole proprietorship and limited liability company and on the arbitration salary or dividend complete this analysis.

Frequently asked questions

Will the 13th AVS pension reduce my second pillar?

It should not, by itself, reduce a future benefit in the context of the adequacy control of OPP 2. However, the actual amount of your LPP pension depends on the regulations, the accumulated assets, and the applicable conversion parameters.

Does the employer need to correct salaries or contributions since August 1, 2026?

No, not solely due to the exclusion of the 13th AVS pension from the adequacy calculation. The adjustment primarily concerns the plan's control by the pension institution and its expert.

Can a married person allocate all their pillar 3a to their children?

No. The spouse or registered partner remains in the first position. From June 1, 2027, children may be placed alongside them, but each designated person must receive at least 10%.

Will a previous beneficiary designation be canceled?

No. A designation validly made before the entry into force remains valid under the old law. If it is modified after June 1, 2027, the new rules will apply.

Are repo operations risk-free?

No. They reduce the risk of having to sell assets in an emergency, but create counterparty, collateral, liquidity, and execution risks. That is why OPP 2 imposes quantitative and temporal limits and prohibits systematic borrowing.

Official sources

• Federal Council, press release of June 12, 2026
• Modification of ordinances, Official Collection 2026 325
• Official ordinance and commentary from the Federal Department of the Interior
• OPP 2, consolidated text
• OPP 3, consolidated text
• Ordinance on free movement, consolidated text
• Federal Office of Social Insurance, LPP reform rejected in 2024
• Federal Council, minimum LPP interest rate for 2026
• LPP Commission, recommendation for the 2027 rate

Editorial date: June 12, 2026.
Last legal check: September 2, 2026.