We are emigrating in a couple of months time and I have recently contacted the compensation office for an estimate for my pillar 1 payout and also the same for my partner. We are departing to Australia and there is an arrangement in place for Aussies to receive a swiss pension payment upon retirement, or a payout upon departure. In Australia, we have our own self managed pension fund which is common there, so pooling the various pensions is beneficial from a cost and management perspective.
My Pillar 1 seems fine to withdraw (although the office really really tried hard to suggest I do not) and it will take a lot of time (more time for the govt to trade on our pension for their income benefits), but they have said a no to my wife, who holds an Australian and a Dutch passport. I understand that there is a rule that disallows the movement of pension funds from one EU country to another, for common sense reasons. However my wife has already removed her pension from Netherlands and has all her funds in AUS. The office has not responded to my request to clarify the legal basis for them not allowing the withdrawal, the situation here seems grey.
Can anyone shed light on previous experiences and how to navigate? The sum is not insignificant so its worth for us to consolidate as we actively manage our own investments and thus costs are very low and returns good)
Thanks!