Half of Swiss homebuyers raid pension pot for funding

As property prices continue to rise while people's purchasing power stagnates, more and more people are resorting to second pillar pension assets to buy their homes. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This can lead to problems in old age, an analysis by Moneypark shows. + Houses for sale in Switzerland? Yes, but you can't afford it According to calculations made by the mortgage advisory and brokerage company on the basis of 7,500 transactions, 48% of buyers use pension fund funds to realise their dream of home ownership. On average almost 70% of the second pillar is invested in the purchase. The average withdrawal from the pension fund is around CHF115,000, a move that creates a pension gap of around CHF500 per month (calculated with an average conversion rate of 5.3%). Considering that the average age of buyers is 44, there are about 20 years left to close the gap. "If you don't do this, you risk having to sell your house in old age because you are no ...