Swiss Market Study on 1e pension plans 2022

An attractive top-up pension solution gains further momentum

Download the 2022 report

Building on our past surveys, we again asked the largest providers of Swiss 1e pension funds about their offerings and future expectations for the market.

In our 2022 survey, we show that the trend of actual and expected growth of 1e pension funds is continuing. While 2021 was once again considered a good investment year after 2019 and 2020, even despite COVID being still a point of discussion throughout the year, a significant number of insured members still chose low-performing, low-risk strategies.

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Our previous report

Key findings Swiss Market Study on 1e pension plans 2022

Conversion of existing management plans is the main vehicle for change for larger
companies

Over the last few years, we have expanded our survey to six company funds. Five out of the six company funds were created by converting an existing management plan. Management plans typically cover higher salaries and employees in management positions are typically better positioned to take higher risks in their pension plans.

Digitalisation of member interfaces is becoming the norm

17 out of the 19 survey participants have an online presence, including all of the surveyed company funds. 10 of the 13 multi-employer providers surveyed are working on further digital innovations such as improving their online presence or creating apps. We expect having an online platform for members to be the market norm soon.

Growing impact of ESG

ESG is having an impact on the investment market and 1e pension funds are no exception to this. Many survey participants are reviewing their investment offerings to take ESG into account more thoroughly. We expect this trend to continue until ESG investing becomes standard practice.

Many plan members choose a low-risk investment strategy and many do not change their chosen strategy

Around one in five insured members have chosen a low-risk investment strategy despite these strategies often having negative expected returns in the current market. In the vast majority of multi-employer providers, less than 10% of insured members changed their investment strategy in 2021. Both numbers indicate to us that ongoing communication and education for members is needed to ensure employees are making informed choices about how their assets are invested.

The 1e market is expected to reach more than CHF 15 billion in five years’ time

The survey participants had a total asset volume of CHF 7.3 billion at year-end 2021. The 1e pension funds surveyed covered 34,778 members, 19,926 of whom in company pension funds and 14,852 of whom in multiple-employer funds spread over 2,788 affiliated companies. The surveyed providers expect future growth of 16% per annum for the next five years, which would grow the assets in 1e pension funds to CHF 15 billion+ by 2027.