GastroSocial

What GastroSocial does

GastroSocial is a Swiss cooperative-style compensation and pension fund headquartered in Aarau that administers all mandatory social insurance contributions for employers and employees in the Swiss hospitality and hotel industry. Founded in 1948 as a compensation fund (Ausgleichskasse) and extended in 1974 with a pension fund (Pensionskasse / BVG) — predating Switzerland's mandatory occupational pension regime of 1985 — the organization consolidates AHV, IV, EO, ALV, family allowances, occupational pensions, accident insurance (UVG), and daily sickness allowance (KTG), plus property and liability cover, into a single integrated administration. It operates exclusively within Switzerland under Swiss social insurance law and the L-GAV collective labor agreement for the hospitality sector, with services delivered in German, French, and Italian.

The core technology stack is anchored by two digital assets: 'connect,' a free encrypted customer portal where employers submit salary declarations and manage compensation/pension tasks, integrated via the Swissdec standard with Swiss payroll and time-tracking software (Abacus, Mirus, Cresus, Sage 200, correctTime); and 'miruSocial,' a payroll program tailored to hospitality workflows that links into connect through the mirusConnect interface. A newer AI chatbot, 'Gaston,' provides 24/7 text-based Q&A on social insurance topics and has handled more than 14,000 inquiries. Additional digital utilities include salary-deduction and family-allowance calculators. The organization holds ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 certifications for quality, information security, and privacy management. Pension fund coverage ratio stood at 123.6% with a 4.38% YTD performance as of May 2026, materially above the statutory BVG minimum interest rate of 1.25%.

GastroSocial monetizes through statutory contribution collection and admin spreads rather than direct fees; the pension arm additionally earns a spread on invested retirement assets. As the preferred social insurance processor for GastroSuisse members (the largest Swiss hospitality industry association) and the claimed market leader in social insurance for the Swiss hospitality and hotel industry, it benefits from a captive association channel. Recent strategic posture emphasizes digital transformation — including a January 2026 brand refresh under the slogan 'Service verbindet' (Service connects), a first-ever fully digital annual report (April 2026), deployment of the Gaston AI chatbot, and an anchor-investor commitment by the pension fund to Allianz Global Investors' $1 billion Allianz Credit Emerging Markets blended finance strategy (January 2026).

Name

GastroSocial

Legal name

GastroSocial

Website

https://gastrosocial.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

GastroSocial is a Swiss cooperative-style compensation and pension fund headquartered in Aarau that administers all mandatory and supplementary social insurances — including AHV, BVG, UVG, KTG, and property/liability cover — exclusively for employers and employees in the Swiss hospitality and hotel industry under the L-GAV framework, serving GastroSuisse members via the 'connect' customer portal and supporting payroll software integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Pension and Social Insurance Administration

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Pension Funds (525110), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311), Accident & Health Insurance (6321), Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)

akta.pro primary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Worksite Hospital Indemnity Insurance (FSAIAMAB)

Keywords

• Social insurance services
• Pension fund management
• Compensation fund services
• Hospitality insurance
• Occupational benefits administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarau

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Social Insurance Administration Services: GastroSocial provides mandatory social insurance administration services (AHV, IV, EO, ALV, family allowances) and pension fund management (BVG) for the hospitality and hotel industry. As a compensation fund and pension fund, it collects contributions from employers and employees and manages retirement savings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GastroSocial is the Ausgleichs- und Pensionskasse (compensation and pension fund) for Switzerland's hospitality and hotel industry. It administers all mandatory Swiss social insurances (AHV, IV, EO, ALV, family allowances) and the occupational pension fund (BVG / 2nd pillar) for employers and employees in the sector, complemented by accident insurance (UVG), daily sickness allowance (KTG), and property & liability insurance. Employers use the 'connect' customer portal and the 'miruSocial' payroll program to handle declarations and salary submissions.

Product overview

GastroSocial operates as a unified social insurance platform for the Swiss hospitality and hotel industry, combining both a compensation fund (Ausgleichskasse) and a pension fund (Pensionskasse / BVG) along with supplementary insurance products. The core digital infrastructure consists of the 'connect' client portal — which serves as the primary interface for employers and self-employed individuals to submit salary declarations and manage social insurance tasks — and the 'miruSocial' payroll program, which is specifically designed for hospitality businesses and integrates with connect via the mirusConnect interface. Additional digital tools include a salary deduction calculator and a family allowance calculator. The insurance portfolio spans the mandatory pension fund (BVG / 2nd pillar), the compensation fund (handling AHV, IV, EO, ALV, and family allowances), accident insurance (UVG), daily sickness allowance insurance (KTG), and property & liability coverage, all tailored to meet L-GAV (Collective Labor Agreement for the hospitality sector) requirements. A newer AI chatbot named 'Gaston' provides automated 24/7 support for social insurance inquiries. All products and services are offered in Switzerland's three national languages (German, French, Italian).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• connect: The innovative customer portal allowing employers to manage payroll declarations and administrative tasks online.
• miruSocial
• Gaston

Products and services

• GastroSocial Ausgleichskasse Compensation fund handling all mandatory Swiss social insurances — AHV (old-age and survivors), IV (disability), EO (loss-of-earnings), ALV (unemployment), and family allowances — for GastroSuisse members and other hospitality employers and their employees.
• GastroSocial Pensionskasse (BVG) Occupational pension fund (2nd pillar / BVG) providing retirement savings, disability and survivor benefits for hospitality employees, with L-GAV-compliant special solutions including a unified 14% contribution rate from age 25 and early retirement from age 60 without reduction of the mandatory conversion rate.
• UVG Unfallversicherung Accident insurance under the Federal Accident Insurance Act (UVG) covering occupational and non-occupational accidents for employees in the hospitality and hotel sector.
• KTG Krankentaggeldversicherung Daily sickness allowance insurance covering loss of earnings due to illness for hospitality and hotel employees; under L-GAV the insurer cannot refuse this coverage on health grounds.
• Sach- und Haftpflichtversicherungen Property and liability insurance solutions specifically designed for hospitality and hotel businesses, covering damage to business assets and third-party liability.
• connect Kundenportal Innovative online customer portal for employers and self-employed individuals to manage compensation fund and pension fund tasks, submit salary declarations, and transmit data in encrypted form at any time; free of charge and available 24/7.
• miruSocial Lohnprogramm Online payroll program tailored to the gastronomy and hospitality industry, offering online salary reporting, scheduling, time tracking and other administrative functions; integrates with the connect portal via the mirusConnect interface.

Quantifiable outcome

• From 2016 to 2025, GastroSocial Pension Fund exceeded the statutory minimum interest rate every year, with an average of more than double the minimum rate, resulting in over CHF 24,000 additional interest for example client Anna

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GastroSuissecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGastroSuisse members can process all mandatory social insurances (AHV, IV, EO, ALV, family allowances) through GastroSocial. This partnership makes GastroSocial the preferred provider for the largest hospitality association in Switzerland.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Swiss Life: Switzerland's largest life insurance and pension provider, offering group pensions, individual retirement, and wealth advisory. Directly comparable as a Swiss pension/life specialist competing for similar BVG mandates, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• PAX: Swiss mutual life insurance society focused on pension, life, and long-term savings. Operates as a member-owned cooperative, structurally aligned with GastroSocial, and offers comparable retirement and risk products to Swiss employers and individuals.
• Stiftung Abendrot: Swiss collective pension foundation offering BVG solutions to SMBs across multiple sectors. Operates as a member-employer-governed foundation similar to GastroSocial's cooperative structure, providing directly comparable occupational pension services.

Broad incumbents

• Mobiliar: Switzerland's largest cooperative insurer, operating as a mutual organization serving SMBs and individuals. Similar cooperative structure and member-first governance to GastroSocial, though focused on P&C rather than social insurance.
• Bâloise Group: Major Swiss insurance group providing life, P&C, and pensions. Directly overlaps with GastroSocial in occupational pensions (BVG) and group insurance, though at broader portfolio scale across multiple countries.
• Helvetia Insurance: Swiss insurance group active in life, non-life, and pensions across Switzerland and Europe. Comparable in occupational pension offerings and group benefits administration, serving similar Swiss employer segments.
• AXA Switzerland: Swiss arm of global insurer AXA, offering life, health, P&C, and pension products to Swiss employers and individuals. Overlaps with GastroSocial in BVG pension and group benefits with broader product breadth.
• Allianz Suisse: Swiss subsidiary of Allianz Group, offering life, P&C, and pensions. Directly overlaps with GastroSocial in BVG pension offerings and is GastroSocial's investment partner in the Allianz Credit Emerging Markets blended finance strategy.
• Groupe Mutuel: Swiss cooperative insurer focused on health, P&C, and pensions, structured as a mutual organization. Similar cooperative governance model and Swiss SMB focus, with overlapping BVG and supplementary benefit offerings.
• Visana: Swiss health and accident insurer serving individuals and corporate clients, including group accident (UVG) and daily sickness (KTG) coverage — products directly comparable to GastroSocial's UVG and KTG lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gastrosocialaarau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gastrosocial

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GastroSocial