The 3a comparison – and why neon is convincing

If you're looking for the best pillar 3a, you can quickly get lost in the fee jungle – or not find it at all, because they are so well hidden (looking at you, traditional banks!). Finding the best solution is truly not easy: In addition to costs, yield and ease of use also play a role. We help you cut through the jungle and show how neon performs in the 3a comparison – and why we think our offer stands strong.

Imagine you want to buy a car. The price is important in the decision-making process, but not always decisive. After all, your own ideas and wishes are very individual: Are you looking for a fast sports car, an electric car for the city, or would you prefer an old VW bus? Everything has its value – and everything depends on what is important to you.

Just like with a car, the best pillar 3a depends on what matters to you personally. Even for the third pillar, it is worth considering various criteria. These aspects can include price, fee transparency, performance, investment focus, and ease of use.

Nevertheless, we start with the topic of price – because it is the proverbial elephant in the room for many.

In true neon style: affordable and transparent

Our motto: no hidden fees, no fine print. Depending on the amount of your 3a assets, you pay between 0.39% and 0.45% per year – making us the only provider in Switzerland that lowers the fees for you when you pay more into your pension or move your existing 3a to us. 

At a glance: the fees of our pillar 3a

This makes us one of the cheapest 3a provider around – especially in comparison to traditional banks like Migros Bank, PostFinance, UBS, or Raiffeisen. There, you often pay double to triple the amount for the same service (!). And mostly these fees are hidden in the fine print – believe us, we had to fight our way through the fee jungle for a while until we had all the details. Typical old-school banking: uncool and non-transparent.

Compared to other fintechs, we also stand quite strong: Some providers, such as finpension or frankly, are a bit cheaper for smaller 3a amounts. Yuh is always more expensive, regardless of your 3a assets. But at the same time, frankly and finpension don’t offer an all-in-one solution like neon. We explain in the last section why that's an advantage for you.

Comparison of pillar 3a providers

As of 17.11.2025.

Investment focus: decide for yourself 

How your money grows in your third pillar also depends on your investment strategy. At neon, we want to give you as much decision-making freedom as possible, without you having to become a complete portfolio architect. Based on a few questions at the opening, we find out what your risk tolerance is, how long your investment horizon is, and how much you can contribute to your pillar 3a annually – and suggest a suitable investment solution for you. You can change your strategy at any time later, and of course, changing strategies is free.

We have a total of five different investment strategies – the name immediately shows you the equity share: Defensive 25 (25% equity), Balanced 45 (45% equity), Dynamic 65 (65% equity), Ambitious 80 (80% equity) and Offensive 100 (100% equity).

Additionally, you can set a Swiss focus and increase the proportion of domestic equities in your portfolio. Or you can emphasize sustainability. Want to combine both? No problem. Anything goes – you’re in control.

This sets us apart from the market: Many providers automatically pack 35 - 40% Swiss equities into their standard products. With us, this so-called «Home Bias» is significantly lower – the Swiss share is always only 10% of the equity portfolio in your respective strategy. Therefore, unlike other providers (e.g., finpension 39%, Viac 39%, Yuh 35%), you have full decision-making freedom: In the standard product, the Swiss share is low, but if you consciously choose the Swiss focus, it increases to 60%.

Also, the possibility to combine the Swiss and sustainable focus doesn’t exist anywhere else. Here you can find the details of our investment strategies.

Performance: Just as important as the fees

Here’s another difference: we go all the way – up to 100% in equities for full long-term growth potential. frankly caps you at 95%, Migros Bank at only 85%. Sure, UBS, Raiffeisen, or PostFinance theoretically allow 100%. But as you've already seen in the overview above, these providers are already out of the race just because of the costs.

Let's take a detailed look at performance: 

As of 17.11.2025. Note on calculations: All annualized performances (3 years/5 years) are based on the cut-off dates at the end of September. The values for Year-To-Date and individual years refer to the entire calendar year (January 1 - December 31).

The comparison deliberately focuses on the highest strategies – that is, those with the maximum equity share at neon, VIAC, and frankly. And the numbers speak for themselves: Our Offensive 100 strategies would have competed well in recent years.

At the same time, transparency is important to us: The returns presented here are calculated retrospectively, as our 3a offer has just been launched. They are based on the historical development of the underlying assets, not on real achieved results like those of VIAC and frankly.

Nevertheless, the figures provide a clear picture: Our strategies are powerful. And ready to compete in the market. We'll check back again in five years.

Curious how this can play out over the years? Try out how your contributions could develop with our pillar 3a calculator. You will see forecasts for the best case as well as for the worst case. Transparent and understandable.

Pension for everyone: get involved from just 1 CHF

We want to make retirement saving easy for everyone, even if you’re starting small. With neon, you’re in from 1 CHF, and your money starts working for you (i.e., is directly invested) from 10 CHF.

As with most providers, you can also open multiple 3a accounts with us. This can be tax-efficient (except with Yuh, where everything ends up in one pot).

Everything tidy and simple in your neon app

Many 3a solutions are separated from your everyday finance app. Not so with us: neon offers you a true «All-in-one» solution. In your neon app, you can manage your account, execute payments, invest your money, and now also provide for your future with a pillar 3a. This way, you always have a good overview of your entire finances.

Just like neon invest, where you can invest your money, our pillar 3a offer is easy to use. We don’t expect you to transform into a pension expert. Our 3a offer is for all those who want to provide for their future and benefit from the tax advantages of a third pillar – but without sacrificing countless evenings and weekends for the topic.

That's why, we guide you through every step right in the app when you're setting up your pillar 3a. This only takes a few minutes. And when it’s time to claim your 3a tax deduction, you’ll find the necessary statement in the app as well. Simple.

Conclusion: your 3a, your choice

Sure, the market for pillar 3a is filled with options. But only a few offer you low fees, complete flexibility, and easy handling directly integrated into your everyday app, like we do. In short: With neon, you pay less, keep control – and secure more freedom for your future.