Just a few years ago, life balance was often associated with part-time work and the compatibility of family and career, but today we know that there are many more facets that influence life balance: The psychological balance, which is not determined by the time factor alone, but also by the content of the work, the balance between stress and relief, hunger for success and performance, achievement and recovery, income and lifestyle, and the balance between constant accessibility and time for oneself.

Finding balance means recognizing one's own needs and standing up for them. Here lies the first challenge in finding life balance: many believe they know what is important and valuable to them and what their needs are. And yet they are not in balance.

First challenge: inner agreement as a guide

What is important is what seems valuable to me and to which I can give my full inner approval. Inner approval is a clear and strong feeling of being able to say "yes" to what I am currently doing or experiencing. This brings us to the feeling level. Something can seem very important to me, but if the inner approval is missing, the question of the meaning threatens very quickly and with it the search for the motivation, for the power that moves me.

But what if I think I feel the inner agreement and yet I am not in balance? Then it's probably a "Yes, but ...", that is, a limited inner agreement: "Yes, it's important to me, but I don't have the time, the energy." "Yes, it is important to me, but right now something else has priority." Such situations challenge us. They catapult us into a field of tension in which we feel the pressure of having to decide for one thing and thus against something else.

Second challenge: enduring ambiguity

If we find ourselves in such a field of tension, we tend to think either/or. In order to feel the power that contains the right answer for me, I have to stay in the field of tension and thus develop a tolerance towards ambiguity. We almost can't stand this persistence, so we want to decide. Ambiguity tolerance is the ability to tolerate ambiguous or contradictory situations and calls us to both/and thinking, i.e., to integrate multi-layered information. People with the ability to relate different pieces of information are better able to wait until the appropriate solution presents itself.

Third challenge: the integration of facts and feelings

When making decisions, we often have the claim that we have to find the right solution. After all, we have to be able to justify the decision to ourselves and others. This demand builds up enormous pressure. Let's assume that we would actually stand in front of such a signpost in the middle of the jungle without a road map, then it should be clear to everyone that the decision cannot be an exclusively imaginary one, because we can pay attention to facts such as the position and course of the sun, but nevertheless have too little information to find the answer by thinking alone. The question is therefore: Where am I drawn to? In this emergency situation it is vital that I hold out, open myself to new impulses and reflect until the appropriate solution appears. It only appears when we link facts, feelings and the unconscious in a new way until clarity emerges. Action that springs from such a creative process connects head and heart. This is called courageous.

Now it can be that I perceive the inner feeling and know where it pulls me, I do not dare to go this way. The fear of disappointing someone, the fear of not meeting the expectations of others. A healthy self-awareness (being aware of yourself) makes it a little easier. Maybe also the following questions: who should decide about my life, myself or possibly others? Who should be the main shareholder of my "I-corporation"?

Of course, we can evade the question "where am I going" by simply running off fact-oriented or by stopping too long in front of the signpost out of sheer fear of making the wrong decision. In both cases we get into an imbalance, namely where we try to control our life exclusively thinking or where we let ourselves be controlled by our fear.

Existential psychology defines responsibility in such a way that life asks us questions. If we take care of the questions and look for our personal answer to them, we take on responsibility and thus make our contribution to life balance. Whether we perceive areas of tension or not is our own responsibility and not that of our superiors, colleagues or the company.

What can a company contribute?

Nevertheless, the question naturally arises as to what extent the company bears a responsibility in achieving and maintaining the life balance of its employees. Every company must ask itself this question. A commitment can be worthwhile from a personnel policy or socially influenced consideration and from an economic point of view: the more balanced the employees, the more productive they are.

Companies can exert influence in different ways in different areas. Basically, the same thing always applies: It is easier for individuals to find a balance if they are given freedom, a say and facilitation. If attention is paid to health and employees can pursue a meaningful task in a functioning team according to their abilities and experience recognition and appreciation in the process.

SwissRe for example, supports its employees in many areas, including the care of elderly relatives. The Ergon Informatik AG allows its employees to vote on important decisions. If the majority of the workforce is against it, the planned venture is abandoned. Other companies organize the "dog walker" for dog-loving employees or prepare lunch as well as dinner in the canteen, provide childcare in company crèches or give employees and teams the opportunity to determine their own projects in whole or in part.

Conversations help to eliminate areas of tension

If we think about the three challenges described above, we see that the greatest challenges of life balance lie in finding inner agreement, in skillfully dealing with areas of tension, and in integrating head and heart. Clarifying these issues is a challenging task that cannot always be accomplished alone. Exchange and reflection with an independent person in a protected space are very valuable. Many companies have recognized this and offer help through external coaches. Companies such as Migros Genossenschaft Zürich, UBS and other smaller companies go one step further and offer executives membership in Spot Coaching the sparring partner for professional questions. A conversation with a professional coach can be booked online at very short notice and without complications. The 60-minute, location-independent conversation takes place via telephone or Skype and can be anonymous if desired. A conversation helps to efficiently link facts, feelings and the unconscious and thus to find the way out of a field of tension more quickly. This offer can promote life balance.

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How crowdfunding is organized is shown by the example of the "marketplace miteinander-erfolgreich.ch"which is operated by Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank in cooperation with Swisscom IT Services AG. Natural persons and legal entities can present and support projects on the "Marketplace". As the "marketplace operator", the Cantonal Bank considers itself to be a broker within the meaning of Art. 412 ff. OR. This means that it offers the opportunity to conclude a contract in return for remuneration. In general, the provisions on the simple contract apply to the brokerage contract.

Innominate contract with platform service provider

A person or a company wants to finance a project - depending on the situation he can be called project provider, project organizer, project initiator or business manager. He looks for an Internet platform that presents the project and concludes a contract with it, usually based on GTC.

The platform service provider verifies the identity and seriousness of the project organizer. Then he has to put the project on the Internet, establish contact between the sponsors and the project organizer and organize the payment processing correctly. For this purpose, the platform must be permanently accessible. The operator must ensure data protection and data security in accordance with the latest technical standards.

As with the hosting contract, the agreement with the platform operator cannot normally be regarded solely as a brokerage contract or as an order. In most cases, it is likely to be a mixed contract with elements of rental law as well as contract for work and services and contract law.

Project providers and platform operators should observe the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Ordinance on the Professional Practice of Financial Intermediation (VBF) as soon as they operate crowdfunding on a commercial basis. According to these, one is already considered a professional financial intermediary if one achieves gross proceeds of more than 20,000 Swiss francs per calendar year and maintains business relationships with more than 20 contractual parties that are not limited to a one-time activity.

Loan, donation or participation?

The sponsors, in case of company foundations investors, conclude a contract with the project organizer. He commits himself to use the paid contributions correctly. Depending on the situation, they can be considered as loans or participations, or even as a gift with the condition that the project is carried out. Often a quid pro quo is offered for the sponsor's contribution, it should be precisely defined.

Some platform operators pay attention to guarantees for sponsors, for example, the German platform Startnext stipulates that donors get their money back if the project is not carried out, or that the money is collected by direct debit only after enough money has been raised for the project.

The lottery law and the associated ordinance (LG Art. 1) apply to the drawing of prizes. Lotteries are prohibited, for which fines or imprisonment are threatened. In the case of projects for non-profit or charitable purposes, prize draws are possible, with the approval of the competent cantonal authority.

Important: Sponsors must pay attention to which law applies in the case of international providers, for example EU or US law. Consultation is recommended for investments of higher amounts.

Regulate liability!

For a crowdfundig community, the law for simple companies may apply, which is practically applied to many different joint projects. Unless otherwise agreed, according to CO Art. 533, each shareholder has an equal share in profit and loss regardless of the type and size of his contribution. Therefore, in crowdfunding projects, the liability of the sponsors for the project, or towards third parties, should be excluded or limited to the amount paid in - for safety's sake, even if the contributions are considered a gift or a loan. According to OR Art. 100, the platform operator and the project provider are liable at least for intent or gross negligence. However, such a limitation of liability does not make a good impression, which is why the project provider should be prepared to be liable for negligence towards the sponsors.

Company formations

If commercial companies are founded and partners are sought by means of crowdfunding, the provisions of the CO on the relevant form of company must be observed. In the case of a limited partnership, the external funders can act as limited partners, for which a minimum amount should be specified. They are liable only up to the amount of the limited partnership sum. Partners with unlimited liability can only be natural persons, but limited partners can also be legal entities and commercial companies. If one establishes a limited liability company, joint-stock company or cooperative with crowdfunding, the corresponding law must be taken into account. For example, when tendering shares and bonds, the provisions of OR Art. 652a on the issue prospectus apply.

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However, most companies are far from taking advantage of the leeway offered by the Occupational Pensions Act (BVG). The BVG permits early withdrawal of retirement benefits from the age of 58. If one withdraws one's pension fund benefits early, the retirement capital is smaller than with ordinary retirement. The conversion rate is reduced, which is used to convert the capital into a lifelong pension. Most pension funds reduce the pensions of early retirees by 5 to 7 percent per year of early withdrawal. Consequently, those who retire at 63 instead of 65 will receive 10 to 14 percent less pension. This reduction in benefits can be compensated for with higher payments into the pension fund. The tax savings that insured persons achieve in this way reduce their costs of early retirement.

Great potential for optimization

As a rule, savings contributions to the pension fund may amount to up to 25 percent of the insured AHV annual salary. The following example shows how much an existing pension solution can be optimized: A 55-year-old company owner earns 280,000 francs a year. His current PF pension plan insures the salary up to 150,000 francs. The savings premium is only 15 percent of the insured salary. If the company owner simultaneously increases the savings premium to 25 percent and the insured salary to 280,000 francs, his annual savings contributions increase from 22,500 to 70,000 francs per year. The additional savings premiums reduce his taxable income, and the expansion of pension benefits also increases his potential for voluntary purchases. The company owner can now pay an additional 1.2 million francs or so into the pension fund and deduct this amount from his taxable income. With a voluntary purchase of 30,000 francs, he saves around 10,000 francs in income tax at a marginal tax rate of 30 percent. If he withdraws this amount at retirement, he incurs about 5,000 francs in withdrawal taxes. The return on the purchase is therefore 5,000 francs (excluding investment income).

A modern pension plan allows cadre employees to make purchases not only up to the amount of the regulatory benefits, but also for early retirement. This means that insured persons who have already bought in for the full benefits on ordinary retirement can make additional purchases.

Tax savings with a partial retirement

Because partial retirement is particularly common among managers in addition to early retirement, a modern management pension plan offers insured persons the option of drawing their retirement benefits gradually from the age of 58 and continuing to insure their full salary in the pension fund until the regular retirement age, which they have drawn up to that point. This is permitted by law, provided they earn no more than 50 percent less after reducing their workload. This means that retirement benefits are the same as without a reduction in working hours, and the tax burden is significantly reduced. The BVG stipulates that the employer must only pay its share of the pension fund contributions on the effective salary. The employee pays the remaining savings contributions and the risk premiums on the fictitiously insured portion of the salary. The employee may deduct these contributions from his taxable income. Thanks to continued insurance at full salary, insured persons can continue to buy into the pension fund in full and also deduct these voluntary contributions from their taxable income. If only the actual salary is insured, the savings contributions and also the purchasing potential shrink.

The company owner in the example calculation reduces his workload at 58 from 100 to 60 percent (see table below). His effective salary thus falls from 200,000 to 120,000 francs. If only the effective salary is insured, the owner can only deduct his savings contributions as an employee in the amount of 12,000 francs from his gross salary. Purchases into the pension fund are no longer possible. If the company owner remains insured at the previous salary, he can deduct employee savings contributions of 28,000 francs and continue to additionally reduce his taxes with purchases. Thanks to the higher savings contributions and a purchase of 15,000 francs, he saves 8,500 francs in taxes - per year.

Optimization of own retirement provision

A pension analysis by an expert provides the necessary basis for decision-making. The analysis lists all benefits from the three pension pillars and provides optimization suggestions on how the benefits can be improved. Company owners and members of the management have greater freedom to shape the plan, as they can directly influence the various solutions. Possible areas of optimization are:

• Insured salary in the pension fund: In the mandatory part of the BVG, the maximum insured salary is currently CHF 59,925. This is calculated from your current salary minus the so-called coordination deduction of currently CHF 24,675. Thus, wages up to around CHF 84,600 are compulsorily insured. Wages above this amount are either not insured at all or insured voluntarily. Thus, additional retirement savings can be saved by insuring wages above CHF 84,240 voluntarily and the entire annual salary without coordination deduction.
• Above-mandatory and extra-mandatory BVG: Salaries above CHF 84,600 and above CHF 126,900, respectively, can often be insured at better conditions (higher savings contributions, better interest rates), depending on the pension fund.
• Paying into the pension fund: It is often forgotten that there is a purchase potential into the pension fund due to salary increases. This should be closed, provided that liquidity is available. On the one hand, payments into the PF have the advantage that they improve benefits upon retirement and the amount paid in can be deducted in full from taxable income.
• Choice of pension foundation and investment of pension capital: There are very large differences here in terms of flexibility, costs and returns, and their impact on retirement savings can be quite significant.
• Pillar 3a: It is important here that the annual maximum amount, assuming liquidity, is paid in every year. A comparison of the costs and returns of the various providers is also useful here.

By taking advantage of these opportunities, you can substantially improve the benefits available at retirement. And the earlier you start optimizing, the longer you have to improve your benefits.

Consequences of early retirement. Once the decision has been made to take early retirement, you should consider the consequences of early retirement. They come into play in all three pillars and are briefly listed below:

1st pillar

• AHV pensions can be drawn earlier. However, due to a lifelong reduction, this is not advisable.
• However, despite early retirement, you remain liable for AHV contributions. Early retirees are subject to the obligation to pay contributions for persons not in gainful employment. The amount depends on the assets and pension income. A sideline reduces the contributions to be paid in certain cases, because the early retiree is then not declared as "not gainfully employed". In the case of wealthy persons, it makes sense to have a secondary income so that their income and not their assets serve as the basis for assessment.

Pillar 2

• The entire BVG capital can be drawn upon early retirement or paid out as an annuity. Since no more savings contributions are paid in for the remaining years until ordinary retirement and due to the compound interest effect, the benefits are substantially reduced.
• If you draw your retirement benefits in lump-sum form, your pension foundation must observe special regulations regarding purchases into the PF. The following often applies: "If purchases have been made, the resulting benefits may not be withdrawn in capital form within the next three years.
• The entire retirement savings capital can be withdrawn upon early retirement. As a result, taxes have to be paid on the entire capital on the one hand and the private assets increase on the other. Higher private assets result in higher AHV liability. Both points can be mitigated by a further payment of the capital and splitting on two vested benefit foundations. In this way, the capital remains in the pension circuit until ordinary retirement and is therefore tax-free. Splitting the capital between two vested benefits foundations has the effect of breaking the tax progression when the capital is paid out, leaving more net capital.

Pillar 3

• You can only pay into pillar 3a if you earn a salary that is subject to AHV contributions. Thus, under certain circumstances, your early retirement means that you may no longer pay into pillar 3a in the years up to your regular retirement. You can pay into pillar 3a up to a maximum of 70 if you have a sideline job.
• Make sure that you draw on them in a staggered manner. If you open several accounts, you can withdraw the assets in different tax years.