Over 250 fund members attended AVENA’s three evening information sessions held in fall 2024, the third year in a row we have offered this event. The impressive online and in-person turnout and the numerous questions asked underscored members’ need for information on the Swiss pension system, as well as their keen interest in retirement planning.
This year, for the first time, we used a different format for each information session. The first one,  “Occupational pension Q&A night,” was our first extended question-and-answer session run both in-person and online; it proved to be a hit, with close to 120 questions asked at the event. The following session, “The ABCs of your occupational pension,” was held as a German-only online event for the first time and drew a large crowd. The final session, “Key steps in retirement planning,” was held in Lausanne in person, bringing together fund members of all ages from across Vaud Canton.

Advantages of AVENA
Some fund members had questions about how the Swiss pension system works in general: When can I take early retirement? What steps do I need to take now if I want to retire in five years? How is the conversion rate calculated, and how low can it go? What reference salary will be used to calculate my AVS pension if I change employers one year before retirement? 
Other members asked questions specific to how AVENA works, which gave panelists the opportunity to highlight AVENA’s advantages relative to other pension funds. These include the inability to rapidly reduce the conversion rate under the current regulations, and the fact that if a member dies before retirement, any voluntary contributions (less early withdrawals) will be returned to the beneficiaries.

Spotlight on phased retirement 
Fund members’ questions also pointed to their embrace of the trend toward phased retirement: Can I continue to work after I retire? In which canton does it make sense tax-wise to hold my retirement capital if I retire abroad? Can I stop working at 55? Should my retirement budget be the same at 86 as it is when I’m 66? Questions such as these showed that people in Switzerland are increasingly choosing to keep working at least part-time in retirement or to ease into retirement, whether for financial reasons or to maintain social ties.

Voluntary contributions: beyond the basics
These increasingly complex retirement situations also prompted a great many questions about voluntary contributions, also known in Switzerland as “purchasing” past years to close any gaps in pension coverage. Until what age can I continue to make voluntary contributions? How do I make voluntary contributions when I have several businesses registered in my name? How can I simulate my options for making voluntary contributions? 
Francis Bouvier, the director of AVENA, and Olivier Reymond, a retirement planning specialist at BCV, reviewed the basics of voluntary contributions in their presentations. They also provided tips and tools for fund members on understanding their pension statements, preparing a retirement budget, keeping in mind important deadlines, spreading their pension assets across several accounts in order to stagger withdrawals, and more.

“Take out your phones!”
The sessions were highly interactive, with attendees encouraged to use their mobile phones to submit anonymous questions and respond to live polls, such as “How many of you have already made a retirement budget?” Despite the differences in fund members’ individual situations, this format revealed a number of common questions and doubts – underscoring the importance of information sessions like these. See you in 2025!

Learn more
Click on the links below for a recap of the three information sessions discussed here. Answers to a number of questions asked by fund members are available here.

• Occupational pension Q&A night – 5 November 2024 | AVENA – Fondation BCV 2e pilier
• The ABCs of your occupational pension – 7 November 2024 | AVENA – Fondation BCV 2e pilier (in German only)
• Key steps in retirement planning – 3 December 2024 | Avena Fondation BCV 2e pilier
   

>Dominique Blanchard, chair of the Investment Committee

AVENA recently decided to invest some of its assets in sustainability-themed investments. Why this change in investment strategy?

I wouldn’t say it’s a change – it’s more that our strategy has evolved. Over the past few years, we’ve been taking steps towards something that we consider to be a long-term shift rather than a fleeting fad. In 2022, for instance, we commissioned an assessment of our portfolio based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria as part of our approach to socially responsible investing. We were awarded an A– rating on the basis of that assessment. And with our recent decision to add sustainability-themed investments, we are going one step further and taking a more active approach to how we manage part of our portfolio. 

How did you decide how much to allocate to these investments?

The decision will affect just 3–4% of our assets under management. Our aim is to play an active role in the transition towards a more responsible and sustainable economy, while also fulfilling our duty to manage our members’ retirement savings responsibly over the long term.

Which approach will you take for these investments?

With our ESG strategy, which we developed together with BCV, our main asset manager, we have so far prioritized approaches that seek to mitigate any adverse impacts of our investments. These include approaches such as negative screening, which involves excluding investments in companies or themes deemed incompatible with certain norms or values, such as coal or pornography, and reducing the portfolio’s exposure to fossil fuels. By introducing thematic investments, we are looking to increase our positive impact. We will do this investing in companies that offer solutions that contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This could include companies operating in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, education, and poverty reduction.

Does this move affect the Fund’s overall portfolio management strategy in any way?

Our portfolio management strategy is guided by a long-term vision and a quest for stability, which helps to ensure we don’t get sidetracked by fleeting trends or fads. By allocating some of our assets to sustainability-themed investments, we aren’t changing that strategy – we’re simply moving forward with it. 

What does this mean for the Fund’s members?

With this move, our aim is to diversify our investments in order to manage risks. Diversifying in this way also helps us to make our portfolio more resilient in today’s complex environment, which we will continue to analyze. Going forward, any decision we make will be based – as it always has been – on a holistic analysis of how best to allocate our assets. Here, our aim is to deliver the returns needed to manage our Fund effectively and to ensure our members enjoy a top-notch retirement.
 

Understanding your pension certificate

What’s a pension certificate?

A pension certificate is an overview of your personal pension coverage. It includes: 

• your member information
• your salary information
• your and your employer’s contributions
• your insured benefits
• your pension savings
• your retirement benefits
• general information (withdrawal amount available to buy a home, maximum possible voluntary contribution, etc.)
  
   

Where can I get my certificate? 

Directly from your Occupational Pension Cockpit. 

In addition to getting your certificate there, you can view your member information, carry out simulations (voluntary contributions, retirement, etc.) and contact your pension fund manager directly.
If you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact us using the form below.
 

Find out more:

Information bulletin (FR):
Télécharger la notice au format pdf

Article (FR): 
Comment décoder son certificat de prévoyance | PME

Videos (FR) :
Comment lire son certificat de prévoyance? Vidéo du 16 mars 2022
Comment lire son certificat de prévoyance? Vidéo du 19 avril 2023

Link to FAQ: 
FAQ | Avena Fondation BCV 2e pilier

2024 financial results

At end-2024, AVENA’s funded status was 109.1% (unaudited) and its net return was 7.92%.

The Fund’s total assets stood at CHF 2.9bn.

Presentation from our December information session

AVENA held an evening information session on Tuesday, 3 December 2024, at Aquatis. Our experts addressed a number of questions, including:

• What will my major expenses be over the next 15 years?
• How large of a pension will I need when I retire? Will my pension benefits enable me to maintain my desired standard of living, as set out in my budget ?
• How do inheritance and tax concerns figure in?
• When should I contact my AVS fund, my employer, and my pension fund?
• What should I do with my pillar 3 accounts

Panelists:
Francis Bouvier, director of AVENA 
Olivier Reymond, pension fund specialist at BCV

Moderator:
Alain Jeannet, former editor-in-chief of L’Hebdo
 

AVENA’s Pension Board has decided to pay an interest rate of 3.25% on all savings capital for 2024. That’s the maximum percentage permitted by law, and it brings our funded status to an estimated 109.4%.

This level of remuneration is significantly higher than the legal minimum (1.25%), and our insured members will see the boost in their retirement savings.

The annual interest paid by the Fund is just the tip of the iceberg – it’s the most visible result of a series of measures underpinning AVENA’s ongoing solidity.

The Pension Board is unanimous in its belief that this strategy will produce better long-term results while safeguarding the Fund’s future.

Watch the video (french) and download the presentation below (english)
AVENA held an evening information session on 5 November 2024 at the Royal Savoy hotel and livestreamed it via LiveChat. Our experts covered a number of topics, including:

•    What is a voluntary contribution and how does it help me?
•    Can I use my pension assets to buy or renovate a home?
•    How does AVENA manage my pension savings? What does the fund invest in?
•    What key information is in my pension statement?
•    When do I have to decide whether I receive my retirement benefits as a lump sum or a monthly pension?

Panelists:
Francis Bouvier, director of AVENA 
Olivier Reymond, pension fund specialist at BCV

Moderator:
Alain Jeannet, former editor-in-chief of L’Hebdo