2nd Pillar Withdrawal Uk Self Employed

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
Good afternoon,

I have searched the forum in order to answer my question but I can't see what I am looking for. So i thought I would put it to the group.

Background:

I went from full time employed to contracting in europe. When i finished my full time employment my pension was put into a 2nd pillar account with credit suisse who I bank with as I did not have another company to swap the pension over too. When I left Switzerland and moved back to UK i took the interest part of the pension out and left the rest as i could not take that with me. Currently the pension is still in the 2nd pillar account (I am not sure if it is in vested benefits or not). I left Switzerland 4 years ago.

Present:

I would like to setup a business and be self employed in the UK and use the pension as start up cost. From what i know when i researched this in 2018 and I was in contact with the LOB is that they told me that under EU law if the person leaves Switzerland and is subject to the compulsory social security system(I presume this is National Insurance in the UK) in the EU or EFTA member state covering the risks associated with old-age, death and disability. The benefits will only be transferred to a block bank acount of the individuals choice.

How I read this is that if i am not paying national insurance, which i could do if i paid myself minimum wage. Would i be allowed to take the money out?

The UK is not in the EU or EFTA as of this year. So does that mean it is transferable?

When I spoke to the LOB on the phone a few years ago they told me that if i have not paid national insurance for three months then i can request the pension fund. I have seen a post when seraching the forum that it could be 6 months.

Can anyone shed any light on this or have any experience that could give me some clarity regarding this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

2
If the money in your 2nd Pillar account is just sitting there in cash, it really should be /have been transferred to a provider that offers investment accounts e.g. VIAC (others are available). I did this with mine about a year ago and my lump sum is already about 30% up. Of course there's no guarantee that this will continue but I'm certain that I'll do better than leaving it in cash to earn 0.1% or whatever.

But on the bigger question, why not simply ask Credit Suisse for the money and see what they say? Presumably they'll ask you to fill in a form explaining your circumstances, and take it from there. If they say no, they'll have to explain why -- and this will at least give you a starting point to make some enquiries with the authorities in CH and the UK.

If you can't take it out now, do at least switch it to a better place than a static bank account (which is what P2 vested accounts are until you transfer them to a more sensible destination).

3
If you are in Switzerland you can withdraw the whole 2 pillar if you become self employed but I think there is a 1 year time limit and it would be subject to withdrawal tax at a reduced rate VS income tax. Don’t know how that works if you have already left CH and been employed elsewhere in the meantime but I would check if the principle still applies. So, you may have 2 strategies to investigate (?) Ask Credit Suisse

4
More than a decade ago UBS lost almost 30K of mine on an investment fund, in the meantime I sure the bankers they paid to invest it went home with big fat bonuses at the end of the year. I wouldn't trust Banks with investments.