Retiring early on CHF 4’000 a month
The calculator’s default plan: 35 years old, CHF 10’000 net a month, CHF 4’000 spent and CHF 3’000 saved.
Education, not financial advice. Use at your own risk. Read the full disclaimer
The short answer
With these numbers you could stop needing a salary at about 47.1, in 2038.
- Independent at
- 47.1
- Needed on the day
- CHF 560’352
- Bridge from savings
- 17.9 years
- Pensions cover
- 68%
- AHV from 65
- CHF 2’730 / month
- Savings at 95
- CHF 803’923
Open this scenario in the calculator → Change any number and see your own answer.
This is the plan the calculator opens with, because it is a common Swiss situation: a good salary, an ordinary lifestyle, and a solid but not extreme savings rate. Change one number in the calculator and you see your own version.
Your savings over time
Age 48 (2038) Accessible CHF 539’024 Pension fund and 3a CHF 277’068
What the numbers say
From 47.1 you live on accessible savings for about 17.9 years, until pension-fund money, Pillar 3a and AHV have all started at 65.0. That stretch is the hard part of early retirement in Switzerland.
After that, AHV of about CHF 2’730 a month covers 68% of spending of CHF 4’000 a month; savings pay the rest.
On the default return, savings would still be about CHF 803’923 at 95 in today’s francs. A bad first decade in the markets can cut that sharply, which is why the plan uses a withdrawal rate with a margin.
The plan behind it
- Spending per month
- CHF 4’000
Other inputs are the calculator defaults: Pillar 3a CHF 5’000 a year, statutory pension-fund credits, full AHV, stocks 8.0% and bonds 1.5% before inflation, 4.0% withdrawal rate, taxes for Zug.
What would change it
- Spend CHF 1’000 less a month: 2.9 years earlier, independent at 44.2
- Save CHF 500 more a month: 1.1 years earlier, independent at 46.0
Frequently asked questions
Are taxes included?
Yes, in retirement: wealth tax, income tax on pensions and investment income, and the tax on lump sums, estimated for Zug with 2026 figures of the Federal Tax Administration. Check the latest rules with your canton.
What if markets do worse?
Every year earns the average return here. With one percentage point less, the date moves by about 1.1 years. The calculator’s sensitivity chart shows the other assumptions that matter.