Before you leave, take a close look at your pension arrangements and insurance cover. Depending on how your sabbatical is structured, your existing arrangements may continue—or you may need to take care of certain matters yourself. It all depends on how you organise your time away.
Scenario 1: You remain employed and continue to receive a salary
If you continue to receive a salary during your time off, very little changes. This may be the case with a part-time sabbatical, for example, where you use accrued overtime and holiday entitlement under a time-based model, or with paid educational or care leave. Because your employment contract and salary payments remain unchanged, your social insurance cover continues as usual.
Example: Marco – Three months of further education under a time-based model
Marco uses the holiday entitlement and overtime he has built up over the past few years to complete a three-month full-time certificate programme. As his employment contract continues unchanged with 100% salary, his pension arrangements remain straightforward: his OASI and pension fund contributions continue automatically, his full UVG accident cover remains in place without interruption, and he pays the maximum amount into pillar 3a at the end of the year.
Your pension provision continues
You do not need to do anything about OASI (pillar 1). Contributions continue to be deducted directly from your gross salary as usual, so no contribution gaps arise. Your savings and risk cover under the pension fund (pillar 2) also continue automatically. If you temporarily reduce your workload for the sabbatical, your savings contributions decrease proportionately. You may pay the standard maximum amount for people with a pension fund into pillar 3a, provided you earn income subject to OASI contributions in the same calendar year.
Your insurance cover remains in place
Occupational accidents are insured through your employer under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG). If you work at least eight hours a week for the same employer, you are also covered for non-occupational accidents. Daily sickness benefits (KTG) and unemployment insurance (ALV) generally continue as well. You keep paying your health insurance premiums and personal liability insurance yourself, as before. Prior to a longer trip abroad, check which costs your insurance actually covers—especially rescue and repatriation, particularly in countries such as the USA and Canada.
Checklist: What to do when taking paid leave
- Check your workload and pay slip, especially if you temporarily reduce your working hours.
- If possible, pay into pillar 3a so you can continue to benefit from the usual tax savings.
- If you are planning a trip, clarify whether your personal liability insurance provides cover abroad.
- If necessary, get travel insurance to cover emergencies abroad.
Scenario 2: You take unpaid leave
Many people arrange unpaid leave with their employer for a longer break. Your employment relationship continues during this period, but you receive no salary. Agree the key terms in writing beforehand, including the duration, how overtime and holiday entitlement will be used, and the conditions of your return, such as your role and workload. It is also worth clarifying your pension provision and individual insurance policies in advance.
Example: Chloé – Five months travelling through southern Europe in a van
Chloé pauses her permanent job for five months, with her return contractually guaranteed. Before leaving, she takes out extended accident cover so that she remains insured against non-occupational accidents, and voluntarily continues the pension fund’s pure risk cover for death and disability. Because she earns a regular salary both before and after the break within the same calendar year, she has no OASI contribution gap and may pay into pillar 3a.
Avoid gaps in your pension provision
Without a salary, no OASI/DI contributions are paid. A missing contribution year can generally reduce your future OASI pension by around 2.3%. Ask the compensation office whether the salary contributions you have already paid are sufficient for the calendar year in question. Whether you still need to contribute as a non-employed person depends, among other things, on the length of your break and your income during the rest of the year. The simplest option is to have the compensation office check this directly. For married people, this step is often unnecessary if their spouse pays at least twice the minimum contribution in the same year.
Regular saving in the pension fund is suspended during unpaid leave. Whether, and for how long, death and disability cover continues is governed by your pension fund regulations. Once active insurance ends, there is generally one further month of extended cover. Ask your fund whether you can continue pure risk cover for the duration of your leave by paying a small premium. You may still pay the full maximum amount into pillar 3a if you earn income subject to OASI contributions before or after the break in the same calendar year. If you cannot make the full 3a contribution, check whether a later catch-up payment is possible: unused 3a allowances for gaps from 2025 onwards can be paid retroactively for up to ten years. Find out more in this article: How do retroactive purchases into pillar 3a work and what do I have to bear in mind?
Check accident and daily sickness benefits cover
Your non-occupational accident insurance (NBU) continues for 31 days after your last paid working day. After that, you no longer have UVG cover. Before you leave, therefore, take out extended cover with your employer’s previous accident insurer. This continues your usual UVG cover for up to six months. If your break lasts longer, you must add accident cover to your private compulsory health insurance (KVG).
Whether daily sickness benefits cover continues during unpaid leave depends on your employer’s group policy. Because the employment relationship is suspended and no salary is paid, company insurance is generally suspended too. Before starting your leave, clarify with HR or the insurer whether the policy continues or is paused. Do not assume that the employer’s cover will automatically resume after your leave. If the insurance was suspended and you become ill during that period, a gap in cover may arise when you are due to return. The company policy often does not pay in such cases, and a new private policy may no longer be available because of the health condition that arose in the meantime.
To avoid this risk, consider transferring to an individual daily sickness benefits policy. This keeps your benefits cover in place without a new medical assessment. Clarify directly with the insurer when an insurable loss of earnings begins,particularly if an illness starts during the leave and continues beyond the official end date, preventing you from returning to work.
Unemployment insurance (ALV) is suspended and no entitlements arise during ongoing unpaid leave. Family allowances may continue for the current calendar month and the following three months, provided the employment relationship remains in place and the statutory requirements are met. Clarify your specific entitlement with your employer or the family compensation office.
Checklist: What to do when taking unpaid leave
- Check your OASI contribution obligation and, if necessary, register with the cantonal compensation office as a non-employed person.
- Contact your pension fund and arrange for continued death and disability risk cover.
- Take out and pay for extended non-occupational accident cover (maximum six months) before the 31-day extended-cover period expires.
- Activate accident cover under your compulsory health insurance on the day the extended cover ends.
- Check your right to transfer to an individual KTG policy; deadlines are usually 30 to 90 days.
- Plan your pillar 3a contribution for the current calendar year.
- Clarify your entitlement to continued family allowances with your employer.
Scenario 3: You resign from your job
Are you using your break for an open-ended trip around the world, taking the leap into self-employment or changing career direction? Once you resign, your employment relationship ends, along with part of your existing insurance cover. From that point on, you are responsible for organising your own pension provision and insurance.
Example: Sandra – Open-ended travel and a career change
Sandra resigns at the end of the year without another contract lined up and takes a year off. She transfers her pension fund assets to vested benefits institutions and invests them in line with her investment horizon. She maintains accident cover for six months through extended cover and then adds it to her health insurance. As she earns no employment income for an entire calendar year, she asks the compensation office whether, and how much, she must contribute to OASI as a non-employed person. Because she has no income during the year off, she cannot pay into pillar 3a, and since she did not work during the gap year, she cannot make up this amount later either.
Pension provision after leaving your job
The rule here is simple: without a salary, you risk an OASI contribution gap. Contact the compensation office responsible for your place of residence to settle any shortfall as a non-employed person.
When you leave the company, you also leave its pension fund. As a rule, your pension assets must be transferred to a vested benefits institution within six months, for example to a vested benefits account. If you do not want to leave the money in a low-interest savings account during your break, you can invest your vested benefits assets in securities.
With VIAC Vested Benefits, you can choose from standard strategies with an equity allocation of 0% to 99% or build your own strategy from a wide range of ETFs and index funds. With a higher equity allocation, however, your investment horizon matters: if you are parking the money in a vested benefits account only briefly or will soon transfer it to a new pension fund, a high equity allocation may be risky because of market fluctuations. If you do not plan to return to employment with a pension fund, one option is to split the assets between two vested benefits institutions. Depending on your tax situation, this may reduce the tax due when the capital is paid out.
For pillar 3a, your status in the year you leave is decisive. Special calculation rules apply if you move from employment with a pension fund to work without one. The permitted contribution should therefore be checked against your earned income and specific pension status. If you have no pension fund for the entire year and are self-employed, you may contribute up to 20% of your net earned income, subject to the statutory maximum for people without a pension fund. If you have no earned income at all during the calendar year, you cannot make a contribution. If you move during the year from employment with a pension fund to self-employment without one, you may pay in the “small” maximum contribution (CHF 7,258 as at 2026) and, after the change in status, an additional 20% of your net earned income. However, the total must not exceed the “large” maximum contribution (CHF 36,388 as at 2026).
Insurance cover after resignation
Non-occupational accident insurance ends on the 31st day after your entitlement to at least half your salary ceases. Here too, use extended accident cover for up to six months. After that, you must insure the accident risk through your health insurer. If you take a break without a new job, you are no longer covered by an employer against loss of earnings due to illness. Transferring to the previous provider’s individual daily sickness allowance policy within 30 days makes the most sense if you have pre-existing conditions or higher health risks, as the switch is made without any medical underwriting.
A vested benefits account generally does not provide ongoing disability or death cover like an active pension fund. In the event of death, however, the existing assets are paid out in accordance with the applicable beneficiary rules. Check whether leaving your job creates a gap in death or disability cover. The private cover that makes sense depends on your family, financial commitments, assets and existing insurance. Worth knowing: with VIAC, the free Life Basic cover provides up to 25% on top of your pension assets in the event of disability or death. VIAC Life Plus also lets you take out up to CHF 300,000 of additional cover at low cost. This is not a replacement for a pension, however, but a lump-sum payment.
For unemployment insurance (ALV), the following applies: if you wish to claim support after your break, you must be able to show at least twelve contribution months within the two-year qualifying period. If you resign without another job lined up, the unemployment fund may impose penalty days for self-inflicted unemployment, during which no daily allowance is paid. The usual waiting days may also apply, depending on your insured monthly earnings and any maintenance obligations. Start looking for work well before your planned return and keep evidence of all applications. If you are returning from abroad, job-search efforts are generally required during the three months before registering with the regional employment centre (RAV).
Checklist: What to do when resigning
- Open a vested benefits account and transfer your existing pension fund assets, ideally splitting them between two foundations. If the money will only be parked temporarily, it can often make sense to leave it in the former pension fund for six months so that it continues to earn the minimum interest rate.
- Clarify your OASI status with the cantonal compensation office and make sure the minimum contribution is paid.
- Pay your pillar 3a contribution based on the income earned in the year you leave.
- Take out and pay for extended non-occupational accident cover (maximum six months) before the 31-day extended-cover period expires.
- Activate accident cover under your compulsory health insurance on the day the extended cover ends.
- Review private death and disability cover, as a vested benefits account does not include risk cover.
- Check your right to transfer to an individual KTG policy within the deadline, usually 30 days after leaving.
- Check your ALV contribution period and document your job-search activities before registering with the RAV.
Withdrawal plan: A regular income during your sabbatical
People planning a sabbatical often save towards it for years. Once the break begins and no salary is coming in, the question is how best to draw on those savings. Rather than leaving the full amount in a non-interest-bearing savings account or selling investments manually at irregular intervals, an automated withdrawal plan can be a useful option. With VIAC Invest, this tool can be used flexibly for life phases such as these.
A withdrawal plan can help spread your travel budget over several months. A fixed amount is transferred regularly from the portfolio to your personal account, while the remaining assets stay invested according to your strategy and continue to be exposed to normal market fluctuations.
Practical liquidity tip: Money you know you will need over the next few months should have only limited exposure to market fluctuations. Choose a very low-risk strategy for this liquid portion, or hold it as cash, so that a market correction does not force you to sell precisely when prices have fallen.