What Berag does

Berag AG (legal name: Beratungsgesellschaft für die zweite Säule AG) is an independent Swiss pension fund service provider (Pensionskassendienstleister) founded in 1973 in Basel, specializing in occupational pensions under the BVG framework (second pillar). The company operates as a general contractor for pension fund administration and management, serving Sammel- und Gemeinschaftsstiftungen (collective and community foundations), individual employer-affiliated pension funds, insurance brokers, and corporate clients in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Across its three locations (Basel headquarters, Zürich, and Bern, opened January 2025), BERAG provides pension fund administration, actuarial consulting, trustee training, reinsurance pooling (RV-Pool), and software-based self-service tools.

The core technology platform is P40, a pension fund administration system co-developed with Netcetera AG since 2019 and launched in February 2022, which serves as the central management environment for member pension funds. Layered on top are Progressive Web App (PWA) portals for insured persons (Versichertenportal) and employers (Arbeitgeberportal), replacing earlier DigitalPK-era applications developed since 2016 by subsidiary DigitalPK AG. Additional product modules include the RV-Loop reinsurance web access portal, payroll system interfaces for automated mutation processing, a novel investment reporting tool, and Leistungsfall-Management (disability case management) software. BERAG operates 12 collective foundations (Sammelstiftungen) including UWP, Convitus, Mauritius Pensionskasse, and Vorsorgestiftung VGS, and the RV-Pool aggregates death and disability risk reinsurance across member pension funds at a 1.2% premium level.

BERAG monetizes through recurring mandate fees for pension administration, consulting, trustee training, and reinsurance services, with pricing delivered via individual contracts rather than published tiers. ISAE 3402 Type 2 certification (recertified 2023, conducted by Balmer-Etienne AG) covers administration, management, reinsurance, and actuarial mandates. The company is privately held, owner-operated, with no disclosed external investment, and was recognized as a Kununu Top Company (4.5/5 stars) and recorded customer satisfaction scores of 5.23-5.60/6 across stakeholder groups in a 2022 Giudici Consulting survey.

Name

Berag

Legal name

Beratungsgesellschaft für die zweite Säule AG

Website

https://berag.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Berag AG is an independent Swiss pension fund service provider founded in 1973, operating the P40 administration platform and Progressive Web App portals to administer collective foundations, employer pension funds, and reinsurance pooling for occupational pension clients in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pension Fund Administration Services

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Other Insurance Funds (525190), Health and Welfare Funds (525120), Pension Funds (525110)

SIC

Accident & Health Insurance (6321), Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Funded Employer Plan TPA (ASO Administration) (HLAEALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Self-Funded (ERISA) Employer Plans (HLAEAAAC), Self-Funded (ASO) Group Health Plans & Stop-Loss (FSAIAFAB), Own-Occupation Specialty Disability Insurance (Professional Occupations) (FSAIAIAI), IT Asset Lifecycle Services (Procure-to-Retire) (BPAEAOAF)

Keywords

• Pension fund administration
• Collective foundation management
• Occupational pension consulting
• Reinsurance pooling services
• Digital pension portals

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Switzerland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pension Fund Administration & Management Services: BERAG provides comprehensive pension fund management services including administration, consulting, actuarial mandates, and governance support to pension funds and collective foundations.
2. Sammelstiftung Management: BERAG operates its own collective foundations (Sammelstiftungen) and provides expert services including management, pension fund consulting, trustee training, and product development for collective institutions.
3. RV-Pool Reinsurance Services: The reinsurance pool aggregates death and disability risks across member pension funds to achieve favorable pricing, performs underwriting and health checks, and conducts tenders for reinsurance coverage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Berag AG operates as an independent general contractor for Swiss occupational pension schemes, providing pension fund administration, consulting, actuarial services, collective foundation (Sammelstiftung) management, and a reinsurance pool (RV-Pool) for death and disability risks. The firm also delivers digital self-service portals for insured persons and employers, built on its proprietary P40 pension administration system co-developed with Netcetera AG.

Product overview

BERAG is an independent pension fund service provider operating as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core platform consists of the P40 pension fund administration system (developed with Netcetera AG), which manages all pension fund operations. Connected to P40 are online portals for insured persons (Versichertenportal P40) and employers (Arbeitgeberportal P40), both delivered as Progressive Web Apps for cross-device access. The legacy DigitalPK portals (2016) have been largely replaced by P40 portals. Additional modules include the RV-Pool for reinsurance pooling with its WebAccess portal, multiple collective foundations (UWP, Convitus, Mauritius, VGS) for pension fund consolidation, investment reporting tools, and disability case management services. BERAG also offers interfaces to customer payroll systems and TeamViewer-based remote support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RV-Pool: BERAG Rückversicherungs-Pool (reinsurance pool) for death and disability risks of pension institutions, structured as a simple company under Swiss law.

Products and services

• P40 Pension Fund Administration System Comprehensive pension fund administration system co-developed by BERAG and Netcetera AG that serves as the central platform for managing all pension fund operations and includes integrated online portals for insured persons and employers. Targeted at Swiss occupational pension funds (Pensionskassen).
• Versichertenportal P40 (Insured Portal) Online portal for insured persons to view personal pension data, run simulations, and execute pension-related business transactions from any device (mobile, tablet, PC). Built as a multi-tenant PWA with customer-specific CI branding. Targeted at employees insured under BERAG-managed pension funds.
• Arbeitgeberportal P40 (Employer Portal) Browser-based employer portal allowing HR and finance departments to independently manage most pension fund business transactions for their connected company. Targeted at Swiss employers affiliated with BERAG-administered pension funds.
• RV-Pool (Rückversicherungs-Pool) Reinsurance Pool

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer satisfaction scores of 5.23-5.60 out of 6 across stakeholder groups (2022 survey)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Netcetera AGcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Co-development partner for the P40 pension fund administration system. Netcetera and BERAG developed P40 as a comprehensive PK administration environment including online portals. P40 is described as state-of-the-art and represents a significant technology investment.
• DigitalPK AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoftware company jointly owned by BERAG and partners. Developed online portals for insured persons and employers since 2016. BERAG is a shareholder of DigitalPK AG. The insured app was researched by ETH Zurich showing positive impact on retirement savings behavior.
• Balmer-Etienne AGcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLed BERAG's ISAE 3402 Type 2 certification process, working with Prof. Marc Hürzeler and Prof. Jürg Meier. Provides ongoing audit and consulting support for quality standards.
• Swiss Infosec AGminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerData protection specialists who worked with BERAG on implementing the new Swiss Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz) from September 2023.
• Giudici ConsultingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConducted BERAG's first broad customer and partner satisfaction survey in 2022.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Swiss Life AG: Swiss Life is Switzerland's largest life insurer and one of the country's leading occupational pension providers, operating its own Sammelstiftungen and offering full TPA-type administration to employer-sponsored pension funds. As a vertically integrated incumbent, it competes with BERAG on collective foundation management, administration, and consulting, but across a much broader product portfolio than BERAG's specialized offerings.
• AXA Switzerland: AXA Switzerland provides group life and occupational pension products, including collective foundation and employer plan administration, as part of its broader P&C and life portfolio. It directly overlaps with BERAG in BVG-compliant pension administration and Sammelstiftungen-style offerings but operates at far greater scale.
• Zurich Insurance Group Switzerland: Zurich Insurance is a major Swiss composite insurer with significant group life and pension fund administration capabilities, including collective foundation services. It is also a reinsurance partner within BERAG's RV-Pool, making it both a partner and a competitive incumbent in the broader occupational pensions market.
• Helvetia Insurance Switzerland: Helvetia offers occupational pension and collective foundation solutions in Switzerland through its life and pensions business, competing with BERAG for employer-sponsored and Sammelstiftung mandates. As a broad multi-line insurer it operates similar functionality to BERAG but bundled with non-pension products.
• Bâloise Holding AG: Bâloise provides group life and occupational pension products in Switzerland, including administration of employer-sponsored plans. It competes with BERAG for Swiss employer and collective foundation mandates and offers a broader P&C and life portfolio beyond pure pension services.

Direct peers

• VZ VermögensZentrum AG: VZ VermögensZentrum is a Swiss financial services firm offering independent pension fund consulting, administration, and Sammelstiftung-like services to employers and individuals. It is one of the closest direct competitors to BERAG, targeting the same advisor/broker distribution channels and specializing in second pillar advisory services.
• Profond Vorsorgeeinrichtung: Profond is a Swiss Sammelstiftung that serves SMEs and large employers with collective occupational pension solutions. As a direct peer in the collective foundation segment, Profond competes with BERAG's operated foundations (UWP, Convitus, Mauritius, VGS) for the same employer acquisition pipeline.
• Avanea Sammelstiftung: Avanea is a Swiss collective pension foundation offering BVG-compliant Sammelstiftung solutions. It overlaps with BERAG's Sammelstiftung operations as a directly competitive foundation target for SME employers and brokers seeking cost-efficient collective pension vehicles.
• Caveo Stiftung: Caveo is a Swiss collective foundation serving SMEs and start-ups with streamlined, digital-first occupational pension solutions. It competes with BERAG for the digital-native SME Sammelstiftung segment, and is similarly focused on simplified plan structures and online onboarding.
• PKE Vorsorgestiftung (PKRück): PKRück is a Swiss pension reinsurance specialist that pools mortality and disability risks for occupational pension funds, operating similar functionality to BERAG's RV-Pool. Both entities aggregate risk across member funds to achieve favorable reinsurance pricing, putting them in direct competition for reinsurance relationships with Swiss pension institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Berag