Joining BVK
New to BVK?
Have you changed your job and now have second-pillar insurance with BVK? Welcome!
Find out here how to register with BVK and transfer your savings from another pension fund (also known as vested benefits).
Your new employer will register you with BVK within the first few weeks of starting your new job. BVK will send you the following documents as soon as you are registered.
- A personalised payment slip
- Your access details for our myBVK customer portal (policy number and activation code)
Important: This will usually happen towards the end of the month in which you join, so have a little patience.
In order to register for the myBVK customer portal via SwissID, you will need your mobile phone, your policy number and your personal activation code. You will receive your policy number and activation code towards the end of the month in which you start working for your new employer.
You are responsible for making sure that your existing savings with other pension funds are transferred to BVK.
You can do this by sending the payment slip you receive from BVK to your former pension fund.
If you have misplaced the payment slip or if the money is in different accounts, you can download the payment slip in the myBVK customer portal and send it to your former pension fund in digital form.
As soon as your former pension fund has transferred your savings, BVK will send you confirmation and a statement of cover detailing your personal BVK benefits.
Current data and numerous modelling facilities can be accessed at any time in the myBVK customer portal.
Decide for yourself how much you want to save in the future. BVK offers three different savings contribution options. It is also worth checking what effect personal purchases will have on your cover.
You can also specify what topics you would like to receive information on from BVK (digitally or otherwise). It's all very easy to do at myBVK!
Are you unmarried and is your partnership also not legally registered? Don't forget to take out cover for those closest to you in the event of your death. You must take the necessary precautions in good time (ideally now).
You can find a decision-making aid and the necessary forms at myBVK. Please feel free to contact us if you need help or have any questions. We are here to help.
Criteria for joining BVK
BVK insures people who are turning 18 in the current year and whose employers have chosen BVK as their pension fund. Of course, it also insures people who transfer to an employer insured by BVK.
Only the risks of death and disability are insured in the first three years. You start saving for retirement in the year in which you turn 21. Combined with your AHV benefits, this money, which you will pay into your own personal savings account during your working life until you retire, will serve to maintain your accustomed standard of living in retirement. That makes it an account that you should take care of at an early stage.
Contributions are mandatory for people who earn an annual salary of more than CHF 22'050 (as at: 2024) and are employed for at least three months. People who are already insured or self-employed as their main occupation are not covered. The obligation to make contributions ends upon retirement (or, if agreed with the employer, when you reach the age of 70 at the latest).
Other topics relating to joining
Every month, you and your employer pay contributions to the pension fund. The percentages are defined in the pension fund's regulations. At BVK, it is possible to save even more and draw a higher pension thanks to the higher pension savings. You can find out more about this here.
Your savings with BVK accrue interest, and you benefit from higher interest rates than those offered by banks. You can find out more about this here.
Most people probably have their biggest savings account with their pension fund. You can increase your savings by making purchases. Find out more
BVK also offers the possibility of insuring auxiliary earnings. Find out more
Frequently asked questions regarding enrolment in BVK
BVK is a pension scheme for employees in the canton of Zurich. Many political municipalities, school communities and parishes as well as public-law bodies and institutions associated with the canton can also be affiliated with BVK.
You will be enrolled in BVK if you begin a permanent employment relationship and receive an annual salary of more than CHF 22,050 (as of 1 January 2023). For positions that last less than a year, the salary will be extrapolated to one year.
Example
During a four-month appointment, you earn CHF 20,000. You will be enrolled in BVK because the annual entry threshold of CHF 22,050 is converted for four months. It is thus only CHF 7,350 (CHF 22,050 / 12 months x 4 months).
Government and court interpreters
Government and court interpreters are considered employees. They will be enrolled if they meet the financial entry threshold.
Members of authorities, e.g. municipal councillors, school board members
Members of authorities will be enrolled if their fixed basic compensation reaches the entry threshold.
Even if your income reaches the entry threshold, you will not be enrolled in the following cases:
- Your position is not permanent and lasted less than three months.
- You are engaged in secondary employment and you are compulsorily insured through your main occupation.
- You are engaged in secondary employment and in your main occupation you are self-employed («Declaration of secondary employment/main occupation» form).
- You are at least 70% disabled under federal disability insurance (IV).
The salary reported by the employer is authoritative. This includes the annual salary and regular allowances. This salary may deviate from the actual gross salary on the salary statement.
The following are not considered regular allowances
Service awards, compensation for overtime, cash payments of holiday, oneoff allowances, rewards from company suggestion schemes, attendance fees, honorariums and severance payments.
Compensation for authorities
This is generally comprised of basic compensation (flat fee), attendance fees and expenses. Only the basic compensation is considered qualifying salary.
Those who are self-employed who have not previously been registered with a pension fund are able to contribute up to CHF 35,280 (as of 2023) or a maximum of 20% of their employment income to Pillar 3a tax-free each year. After enrolling in BVK, the maximum amount is CHF 7,056 (as of 2023). To compensate this difference, the self-employed generally have the option of making tax-privileged BVK buy-ins.
The earliest one can be insured against the risks of death and disability is at age 18. The savings process for the retirement pension provision begins on 1 January of the year in which the insured person turns 21.
The insured salary is the qualifying annual salary reported by the employer (income subject to AHV), less the AHV coordination deduction. As a result, AHV/IV and BVK do not insure the same salary components. On the one hand, the insured salary is the basis for calculating the employee and employer contributions to BVK, and on the other hand it is the basis for calculating disability and death benefits.
For a level of employment of 100%, the coordination deduction is CHF 25,725 (as of 2023). For part-time employment, the coordination deduction is adjusted on the basis of the level of employment.
The benefits are financed through the employee contributions, the employer contributions and the returns on the assets (interest). The employer usually pays 60% of the contributions and the employee 40%. The contributions are deducted directly from the employee’s salary each month and transferred to BVK together with the employer contributions.
The contributions are comprised of savings contributions for the retirement pension and risk contributions for disability and life insurance.
Insured persons have a say in how much they save in retirement capital. There are three contribution options:
a) «Basic» option (-2%)
b) «Standard» option
c) «Top» option (+2%)
With the «Basic» option, you pay two percentage points less than you would with the «Standard» option. With the «Top» option, you pay two percentage points more than you would with the «Standard» option. By default, all insured persons are assigned to the «Standard» option.
You can change your savings contribution option every six months, as of 1 January or 1 July. In order for changes to be effective as of 1 July, you must notify us of them by 31 May, while the deadline for changes as of 1 January is 30 November. Your chosen savings contribution option will apply until you make a different choice. The savings contribution option can always be changed as of the next possible date. The easiest way to change the option is in the insured persons' portal, myBVK, where you can also see what effect it will have on your savings. Find out more about the choice of contributions here.
Upon enrolment in BVK, you are required to transfer all termination benefits from previous pension plans and vested benefit schemes. This will increase the savings used to calculate your retirement pension.
Once the termination benefits from your previous pension plan have been transferred to BVK, we can determine whether there is a pension gap. You can close any gaps by making voluntary purchases. You can find more information in the «Purchase/Persönlicher Einkauf» information sheet or at www.mybvk.ch.