Learn: financial independence in Switzerland, start here

Learn

Start with six articles in order, then go deeper by topic. Every number links back to the calculator.

Start here

Six articles in order, about an hour of reading, from the idea to the numbers to the risks.

What is FIRE, and does it work in Switzerland?FIRE means building a pot that covers your spending so work becomes optional. Here is how it works in Switzerland, where it helps and where it gets harder.
Your FIRE number: how much is enough in Switzerland?Multiply yearly spending by 25 to 30 for a first answer, then adjust for AHV, pension fund and Pillar 3a. A table in francs and the Swiss twist.
The three pillars when you retire earlyAHV, pension fund and Pillar 3a: what each one pays, when you can reach it and what that means if you stop working before 65.
Savings rate: the number that sets how soon you are freeYour savings rate, not your salary, decides how many years you need. A table from 10% to 80% shows 66 years at the low end and 6 at the high end.
The 4% rule, and why 3.5% is safer for Swiss early retireesThe 4% rule comes from US data over 30 years. Early retirees need longer horizons, so 3.5% is the safer start. What the rule says and what it does not.
Sequence risk: why the first ten years of retirement decideTwo retirees, the same average return and very different outcomes. How the order of returns can break a plan and what early retirees can do about it.

What FIRE is and which kind fits you.

How much you need and how fast you get there.

AHV, pension fund and Pillar 3a before 65.

Taxes and health insurance without a salary.

Returns, risk and costs, in francs.

Rent, buy, or neither.

Lower costs, new rules: leaving Switzerland.

Enough, spending and the case for needing less.