What Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK) does

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK) is the public-law occupational pension institution of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, established in 1921 and operating under the cantonal LCPC law and the federal BVG/LPP framework. It administers mandatory occupational pension coverage for employees of the Canton of Bern and 135 affiliated employers — including the University of Bern, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern University of Teacher Education, the Cantonal Police of Bern, and the Reformed National Churches. As of 31 December 2025, BPK manages CHF 17,838.8 million in total assets covering 42,145 active insured persons and 18,321 pension beneficiaries, with a fully funded coverage ratio of 103.2% and a 6.7% net investment return for the year.

The fund's product suite comprises retirement, disability, and survivor pensions, voluntary savings purchases, home-ownership promotion (WEF), bridging pensions for police, and continued insurance options, all delivered via a direct advisory model (contact persons assigned by surname range and risk category) supplemented by the myBPK self-service portal and an online retirement simulation tool (PK/S.Live). Beyond core insurance, BPK operates a direct mortgage-lending business — fixed-rate, SARON-based, and variable mortgages — and pursues an in-house investment program spanning securities, real estate (with a CHF 2.0 billion portfolio target by 2030), and sustainability/climate-aligned strategies. Technology is built on standard pension-fund information systems with a web-based portal; no proprietary AI, API, or developer-facing platform is offered. Distribution is non-commercial: new insured persons are enrolled automatically through affiliated employers, and advisory services are delivered in-house by a 29.5 FTE team.

Revenue mechanics are those of a regulated pension fund rather than a commercial enterprise. Cash inflows come from mandatory employee and employer contributions (age-tiered rates from 7% to 18%, with employers matching or exceeding) and from investment returns on the CHF 17.8 billion asset base. Cash outflows consist of CHF 565.2 million in annual pension payments and operating costs of CHF 6.0 million in administration and CHF 9.7 million in asset management — implying CHF 99.8 per insured person or 0.22% of insured salary. All contributions and investment returns are reinvested exclusively for the benefit of insured persons and pensioners; the fund does not distribute profit and was granted full financial independence in 2000 when the state guarantee was removed.

Name

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK)

Legal name

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK)

Website

https://bpk.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK) is the public-law occupational pension fund of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, managing CHF 17.8 billion in assets for 42,145 active insured persons and 18,321 beneficiaries across 135 affiliated employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Pension Fund

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110), Pension Funds (52511), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Public Pension Funds (DB/DC Sponsors) (FSAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Occupational pension fund
• Retirement insurance
• Disability insurance
• Mortgage lending
• Pension asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Employee and employer pension contributions: BPK receives regular monthly contributions from both employees and employers based on the applicable pension plan. The contributions fund retirement savings and risk coverage for disability and death.
2. Investment returns on portfolio: Net investment result of CHF 1,132.5 million in 2025, with net performance of 6.7%. Total assets of CHF 17,838.8 million generate returns that support pension obligations.
3. Mortgage lending interest: BPK provides mortgage loans to property owners, generating interest income. Current rates range from 1.10% (3-year fixed) to 2.25% (variable), plus SARON-based mortgages with 0.70% margin.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK) is a public-law occupational pension institution providing mandatory BVG/LPP pension coverage (retirement, disability, and survivor benefits) to employees of the Canton of Bern and 135 affiliated employers, including universities, cantonal police, and national churches. The fund also offers mortgage lending products and manages a CHF 17.8 billion investment portfolio, all exclusively for the benefit of insured persons and pension beneficiaries.

Product overview

Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK) operates as a unified pension fund platform offering occupational pension insurance (BVG/LPP) as its core product, supplemented by mortgage lending services, asset management, and digital tools. The product suite includes core insurance products (retirement pensions, disability benefits, death benefits), mortgage products (fixed-rate, SARON, variable), a customer portal (myBPK), an online retirement simulation tool, and investment management services. These offerings are integrated under a single institutional structure governed by the LCPC law, serving 135 affiliated employers and over 42,000 insured persons in the Canton of Bern.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Berufliche Vorsorge (Occupational Pension Insurance) Core pension insurance product providing retirement, disability, and death benefits for employees of affiliated employers in the Canton of Bern, operating under the Swiss BVG/LPP framework. Mandatory affiliation for Canton of Bern employees.
• Hypotheken (Mortgage Services) Mortgage lending products including fixed-rate mortgages (Festhypothek) from 3 to 10 years, SARON-based mortgages with 0.70% margin, and variable-rate mortgages at 2.25%. Offered to insured persons and external clients. Current rates range from 1.10% (3-year fixed) to 2.25% (variable).
• Vermögensanlagen (Asset Management) Investment management services covering securities, real estate, and sustainability-focused investments with ethical investment policies and climate strategy. Manages CHF 17,838.8 million in total assets achieving 6.7% net investment performance in 2025.
• myBPK Customer Portal Secure online portal providing insured persons and pension recipients with self-service access to personal pension information, annual statements, documents, and pension affairs management.
• Pension Simulation Tool (PK/S.Live) Online simulation tool provided by PK Softech AG allowing insured persons to calculate and project their retirement benefits and pension outcomes. No simulation data is stored.

Quantifiable outcome

• Coverage rate of 103.2% achieved as of December 31, 2025, with CHF 0 in free funds (transition to full capitalization system)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ETHOS (Foundation for Sustainable Investment)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerETHOS is a Swiss foundation promoting sustainable investment practices. BPK has partnered with ETHOS, as evidenced by the ETHOS logo appearing on the BPK website footer. ETHOS supports pension funds in implementing sustainable and responsible investment strategies.
• Ernst & Young AGcoreOthersErnst & Young AG serves as the external audit firm (Organe de révision) for BPK, conducting annual audits as required by Swiss pension law supervision.
• Pittet Associates AGcoreOthersPittet Associates AG, with Martin Schnider as the appointed actuary, serves as the certified pension actuary (Expert en matière de prévoyance professionnelle) for BPK, verifying that the institution maintains sufficient security for fulfilling obligations.
• PPCmetrics AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationPPCmetrics AG (Dr. Neubert Luzius and Riesen Lukas) provides external investment consulting services to advise on investment strategy and portfolio management.
• c-alm AGcoreTechnology or Integrationc-alm AG (Dr. Baumann Roger and Dr. Schwendener Alvin) serves as the Investment Controller, providing independent monitoring and control of investment performance.
• BDO AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Realit AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Zollinger Immobilien AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Arlewo AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Frutiger Immobilien AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Schäppi Strassenmann AGminorOthersReal estate management partner for managing residential and commercial properties in the BPK portfolio.
• Stämpfli Kommunikation AGminorOthersDesign and programming partner responsible for the design and technical development of the BPK website.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pensionskasse Basel-Stadt: Public-law pension fund of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, providing occupational pensions for cantonal and affiliated employees. Like BPK, it is supervised under cantonal pension law, manages a multi-billion AUM, and delivers retirement, disability, and survivor benefits under the Swiss BVG framework.
• PUBLICA: Federal pension fund for employees of the Swiss Confederation and other affiliated federal entities. Although larger in AUM and federal rather than cantonal, PUBLICA operates the same BVG/LPP product structure as BPK with multi-employer affiliation, mandatory employee coverage, and a parity-governed administrative commission.
• Aargauische Pensionskasse (APK): Cantonal pension fund for Aargau employees, directly comparable to BPK as a mid-sized Swiss cantonal public-law pension institution with mandatory affiliation, parity governance, and a multi-line benefit offering including retirement, disability, and survivor pensions.
• Pensionskasse Thurgau: Cantonal pension institution of Thurgau providing BVG-compliant pension coverage. Operates under the same Swiss occupational pension framework as BPK with a similar mandatory employer-affiliation model for cantonal and affiliated staff.
• Pensionskasse Stadt Zürich: Pension fund for the City of Zürich public sector, structurally analogous to BPK as a municipal public-law pension institution in Switzerland. It offers similar BVG/LPP occupational pension coverage, serves public-sector employees, and operates under a comparable parity governance model.
• Caisse de pension de l'État de Vaud (CPEV): Cantonal pension institution of Vaud, offering BVG/LPP coverage to State of Vaud employees and affiliated employers. Comparable to BPK in operating model (public-law entity), product offering (retirement, disability, survivor pensions), and regulatory framework, but serves a different linguistic/geographic catchment.
• PKG Pensionskasse Graubünden: Cantonal pension fund for Graubünden, another Swiss public-law pension institution under the BVG/LPP framework. Comparable product offering (retirement, disability, survivor, mortgage) and governance structure (parity commission, cantonal supervision), but serving a different canton.

Regional players

• Gebäudeversicherung Bern (GVB): Public-law insurance institution of the Canton of Bern that, while focused on property insurance rather than occupational pensions, shares the same cantonal legal status, regulatory supervision, and Bern geographic base as BPK. Useful as a regional comparator for canton-affiliated public-law entities.
• Caisse de prévoyance du personnel de la Ville de Berne: Pension fund of the City of Bern (rather than the Canton), serving municipal employees within the same geographic catchment as BPK. Operates a structurally similar defined-contribution BVG scheme for public-sector staff but at sub-cantonal scale, making it the closest geographic peer.

Others

• Swisscanto Pensionskassenberatung: Swiss pension consulting and investment advisory firm serving Swiss pension funds including cantonal institutions. Relevant as a service provider adjacent to BPK's operations, particularly for investment consulting (BPK uses PPCmetrics for a similar function) and pension governance advisory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bernische-pensionskasse-bpk-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK)