Build your own safety net
As a self-employed person, you must organise income, retirement, accident, illness, disability and death with your own choices.
OASI yes, the rest depends
OASI/DI is mandatory. Voluntary occupational pension, accident insurance, loss of earnings and private insurance must be decided according to your situation.
Cash flow comes before tax optimisation
An optimised 3a is useless if a three-month illness puts your activity in difficulty.
Self-employed pension diagram
Without automatic LPP: voluntarily build risk cover then retirement.
- Family Death cover Secure dependents
- Critical Loss of earnings / disability Protect business income
- Base Self-employed status No automatic LPP
Turnover is not a safety net.
Self-employed: protections are not automatic
In Switzerland, the 1st pillar OASI/DI is mandatory, but it is generally not enough to maintain your standard of living. Unlike an employee, you are not automatically affiliated with an occupational pension fund and you do not have an employer continuing your salary in case of illness.
Your plan must cover three priorities in the right order: protect immediate income, prepare retirement, then secure loved ones and the business if you die or become disabled.
The order of priority
For a self-employed person, the best tax optimisation is fragile if it forgets the risks that immediately stop turnover.
Pillar 3a: the large tax lever
Sans LPP, vous pouvez verser au pilier 3a jusqu’à 20 % de votre revenu net, au maximum CHF 36’288 en 2026. Avec une LPP facultative, le plafond retombe au montant salarié, soit CHF 7’258 en 2026.
The choice between bank, funds and insurance depends on your income. A bank or fund solution often remains more flexible for variable income. 3a insurance becomes relevant if you want to integrate death, disability or premium waiver.
Voluntary occupational pension: useful depending on income
A self-employed person can voluntarily join a pension fund, for example through a professional association, the fund of their employees or the substitute institution. This solution can improve old-age, death and disability cover, and open the door to tax-deductible buy-ins.
It is often interesting for high incomes, self-employed people with families or those who want pension provision closer to an employee's structure. However, it reduces the 3a limit, so the overall balance must be calculated before signing.
Common pitfalls
Mistakes often come from a plan built only around taxes.
I am already self-employed: what should I check?
Contrôlez vos cotisations AVS, votre 3a, une éventuelle LPP facultative, votre perte de gain, votre couverture accident, vos bénéficiaires et vos protections décès-invalidité. Adaptez après naissance, hypothèque, changement de bénéfice ou transformation en Sàrl/SA.
Death, disability and family continuity
Une assurance décès peut protéger conjoint, concubin, enfants ou hypothèque. Une rente d’incapacité de gain protège le revenu si maladie ou accident réduit durablement votre capacité à travailler. L’assurance vie can combine savings, protection and beneficiaries according to pillar 3a or 3b.
If the business represents a significant part of family wealth, the plan must also provide for what happens in case of death, disability or succession.
We structure pension provision that respects your cash flow
We analyse status, net income, expenses, family, taxation and risk tolerance. Then we compare 3a, voluntary occupational pension, loss of earnings, accident, death, disability and life insurance to build a coherent and scalable solution.
Build your self-employed plan
Each building block answers a different need: income, retirement, family or taxation.
Structure my self-employed pension plan Optimise my 3a Protect my income