Insurance companies belong to one of the most important sectors of the economy in Switzerland. They are also extremely conservative and safe. In 130 years none have failed, a record that even Swiss banks cannot match. Unique tax advantages combined with conservative money management cause Swiss insurance products to perform much better than one might expect. Swiss annuities are exempt from Swiss withholding taxes.
Swiss annuities offer instant liquidity, a rarity in annuities.
All capital, plus all accumulated interest and dividends, can be freely accessible after the first year. Although called annuities, Swiss annuities act more like a savings account than a deferred annuity. But they are operated under an insurance company's umbrella, so that they conform to the legal definition of an annuity, and as such, compound tax- free until they are liquidated or converted into an income annuity later on. That annuity income is tax-free in Switzerland, and in the U.S. it is taxed in the same way as any U.S. annuity would be, which defers all taxes during the accumulation period. U.S. purchasers of Swiss annuities are not required to report them as foreign accounts on their U.S. tax returns.