Pension fund for your household employee: plan AN or AN Plus at the Substitute Institution?
As soon as your cleaner, nanny or carer earns above the BVG threshold, you must enrol them with a pension fund. Most families end up with the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution - the fund that has to accept everyone. What few people know: it runs two plans. The standard AN plan insures low wages only on the minimum; the AN Plus plan insures the whole wage with no coordination deduction. For a household wage that is the whole difference.
The Substitute Institution must accept you - and since 2026 it offers two plans. The standard AN plan insures low wages on only the minimum. The AN Plus plan insures the whole wage from CHF 2'500 with no coordination deduction, often building your employee several times more retirement savings. You don't need to find another fund for it.
- Standard AN plan: the coordination deduction (CHF 26'460) leaves only the CHF 3'780 minimum insured on a CHF 25'000 wage.
- AN Plus plan: the whole wage insured, from CHF 2'500, with no coordination deduction - at the same Substitute Institution.
- On a CHF 25'000 wage, AN Plus builds roughly six times the retirement savings of the standard plan.
The Substitute Institution has two plans: AN and AN Plus
As the employer you are free to choose which pension fund you join. In practice most families take the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution - simply because it is the only fund obliged to accept every employer (duty to affiliate, BVG Art. 60), even for a single employee. No sales pitch, no rejection.
The key point: the Substitute Institution is not the same as 'only the minimum'. It runs two plans. The AN plan applies the statutory minimum model with the full coordination deduction. The AN Plus plan insures the whole wage with no coordination deduction. So the mistake isn't choosing the Substitute Institution - it's staying on the default AN plan without knowing AN Plus exists.
That means you neither have to comb through some 150 funds nor fear that a collective foundation won't take your single household employee. The fund that must accept you anyway already offers the better option - you just have to ask for it.
The problem in the standard AN plan: the coordination deduction eats the pension
In the AN plan it isn't the whole wage that's insured, only the 'coordinated salary': gross wage minus the coordination deduction (CHF 26'460 in 2026). At a high wage that barely matters. But for a cleaner on CHF 25'000 a year the deduction is larger than the entire wage:
| Annual gross wage (cleaner, part-time) | CHF 25'000 |
| − Coordination deduction | − CHF 26'460 |
| = coordinated salary (arithmetic) | CHF −1'460 |
| → insured: minimum coordinated salary | CHF 3'780 |
Because the result is below zero and the wage still exceeds the entry threshold, the statutory minimum coordinated salary of CHF 3'780 applies. So instead of saving on CHF 25'000, your employee saves for retirement on only CHF 3'780 in the AN plan. This is exactly where the AN Plus plan comes in.
AN Plus: the whole wage insured, with no coordination deduction
In the Substitute Institution's AN Plus plan the entire relevant annual wage is insured - with no coordination deduction, from a wage of more than CHF 2'500 and up to the upper limit of CHF 90'720. The savings contributions are the same percentages as in the standard plan (7 to 18 % by age), but they run on the full wage instead of the reduced one. The plan is designed expressly for part-time, household and care wages.
What that means on a CHF 25'000 annual wage for an employee aged 35 to 44 (retirement credit 10 %):
| Plan AN (standard) | Plan AN Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Insured wage | CHF 3'780 | CHF 25'000 |
| Retirement credit per year (10 %) | CHF 378 | CHF 2'500 |
| Difference for retirement saving | - | + CHF 2'122 / year |
Both sides pay half of the contributions. AN Plus therefore costs you a little more as the employer - but for a modest extra amount per month your employee builds a real pension instead of a token one.
Plan AN vs. plan AN Plus: what matters
Both plans run at the same Substitute Institution. These four points make the difference for a household wage:
| Criterion | Plan AN (standard) | Plan AN Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination deduction | full (CHF 26'460) | none (from the 1st franc) |
| Insured wage on CHF 25'000 | only CHF 3'780 (minimum) | the full CHF 25'000 |
| Entry threshold | more than CHF 22'680 | from CHF 2'500 |
| Mainly useful for | high or full-time wages | low or part-time wages (household) |
AN Plus is voluntary - you have to request it actively when affiliating. Beyond the Substitute Institution, some collective foundations offer similar 'from the first franc' plans, but not all accept a single household. For most families AN Plus is therefore the simplest route.
And the roughly 150 other funds?
Switzerland has close to 150 collective foundations and pension funds - with very different costs, interest and conversion rates. You can compare them with independent data. Important: a fund being analysed does not mean it will accept a private household with a single employee.
Use the independent comparison at pensionskasse.com and the annual PK-Award as a first filter. Then request an offer only from funds that accept private households - and have them all calculate the same wage, age and plan. For a typical household wage AN Plus at the Substitute Institution usually stays the simplest solution.
What you as an employer can actually do
You don't need to become a pension expert. Three pragmatic routes:
- 1Only need compliance? The standard AN plan is correct and fast - done.
- 2Want to build your employee a real pension? Explicitly request the AN Plus plan at the Substitute Institution (whole wage, no coordination deduction).
- 3Higher or full-time wages? Also compare collective foundations (see above), but first check whether they accept a single household.
Common mistakes when choosing a plan
1. Blindly staying on the standard AN plan
The AN plan is convenient, but rarely the best pension for low wages. A quick look at AN Plus almost always pays off.
2. Only looking at the cost to you
Two plans can cost you a similar amount - and yet one builds several times more savings. The coordination deduction decides.
3. Overlooking the coordination deduction
At a low wage it's the single biggest lever. 'No coordination deduction' changes the pension more than any interest rate.
4. Thinking you have to find another fund
You don't: AN Plus is available at the Substitute Institution itself - the fund that must accept you anyway.
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Get startedFrequently asked questions
Do I have to use the Substitute Institution?
What is the coordination deduction - and why does it matter so much?
What is the AN Plus plan?
Does AN Plus cost me more?
Where do I compare other pension funds?
Does Clino help with BVG accounting?
Sources
- Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV/FSIO) - Occupational pension provision, threshold amounts 2026: bsv.admin.ch
- Federal Act on Occupational Pension Provision (BVG), SR 831.40 - Art. 2/7 (compulsory insurance), Art. 8 (coordinated salary), Art. 60 (Substitute Institution); BVV 2 ordinance
- Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution - AN Plus pension plan 2026 (whole wage, no coordination deduction): aeis.ch
- Independent pension-fund comparison and PK-Award: pensionskasse.com, pk-award.ch
Threshold amounts and rates as of 2026. Individual funds' scheme rules and costs change continually - check current figures before affiliating.
