Yes, if you leave for somewhere in the Eu you can take a percentage with you, if you leave for somewhere outside the EU you can take it all.

Hi Stephanie, if you are leaving Switzerland you can claim your money with the papers that you are leaving the country. There wont be any problems.

Good luck and enjoy your well deserved pension

Thank you both for your quick answers!

Dorothy you speak of papers? Are there certain papers that I need to fill out to officially leave the country? And if so where would I find these?

Thanks!

HI I am going through this myself so here are some details.

Call your bank to request the forms to release 2nd pillar funds. You will need to provide an attestastion de départ along with the forms.

Go to your bank to do the 3rd pillar funds.

For AVS, you cannot take until you are retirement age. Apparently there are a lot of people who leave Switzerland and forget about it, so I was advised to have all my certificates du salaire in a safe place, and get a summary of the amount in the AVS - probably can get from your employer - it varies by canton etc.

Hope this helps.

In fact Dorothy is wrong and Charlie is right. The rules have changed in the last few years, now you have to leave Europe to get all the money.

Anyone leaving Switzerland to settle in an EU/EFTA member state, may generally not cash in their pension from the compulsory pension plan as persons in the new country of domicile are insured by law to receive old age, survivors' and invalidity benefits. The mandatory portion of your pension assets must therefore remain in a blocked account (vested benefits account or policy) in Switzerland and can only be paid out when you reach retirement age. The extra-mandatory portion of your pension, however, may be paid out in cash. The mandatory and extra-mandatory portions of your pension are listed on the personal insurance certificate under the heading ‘Retirement provision information’."

More info:

https://www.ch.ch/en/withdraw-pension-early/

At the bottom of the page are the links to the necessary steps.

You can also access your 2ieme pilier within the EU if you are buying or building a house in the EU and/or if you set yourself up as self employed or start your own business. 

http://aso.ch/fr/conseils/vivre-a-letranger/assurances-sociales/prevoyance/versement-en-especes-du-2eme-pilier

Exactly; obtaining your second 'pilier' is quite easy!

You may draw on your pension if you can prove that you are leaving Switzerland permanently to settle abroad.

Sorry, but that is wrong if you're going to an EU country.

Here is an official site: https://www.ch.ch/en/withdraw-pension-early/

Depending on how you do it you can pay less tax as well. If you want further info pm me and I'll send you the link. 

Either way Stephanie, enjoy your new life wherever you end up.

@Dorothy W: and/or if you are setting up your own business.