Social Security (Sweden)

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Sweden's social democratic economic formula, a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements, was challenged in the early 1990s by high unemployment. However, fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic challenges.

Contents

[edit] Government pension system

[edit] National basic pension for those born in 1938 or later

This pension consists of income/supplementary pension, premium pension and guarantee pension and is administered by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and the Premium Pension Authority (PPM). The pension is based on the income you have had during your life (from the age of 16 up to and including 1998). If you have worked for a long time and earned a lot, you will receive a higher pension. Similarly, you will receive less pension if your income has been low. 18.5% of your income is paid into the pension system, 16% to the income pension and 2.5% to the premium pension. These contributions are recorded as pension entitlements. You also receive pension entitlements for sickness benefit, parental benefit, unemployment benefit, and sickness and activity compensation. You get additional pension entitlements for years when your children were small, studies with study assistance and military service. The ceiling for pensionable income is 7.5 income base amounts. For income above this amount, you pay no contributions and also get no pension entitlement. You can start drawing your pension from the age of 61. The longer you wait and continue to earn pension entitlements, the higher your pension will be. You can also choose to take out full, three-quarters, half or one-quarter pension. Similarly, you can draw different proportions of your income pension and premium pension. As long as you have an income, you will continue to earn pension entitlements, regardless of whether or not you draw your pension. Retirement pension is liable to tax.
This is how you earn a pension
Drawing your pension and variable pension age
Indexation of pensions

[edit] Income pension

The bulk of the pension entitlements you have earned go towards your income pension. Your pension entitlements earn interest in line with the growth of incomes in Sweden. When you retire, your pension is determined by the pension entitlements you have earned throughout your life and by the life expectancy for your age group. In the case of persons born between 1938 and 1953, supplementary pension forms part of the income pension. The older you are, the larger the proportion of income pension you get as supplementary pension.
Income pension and supplementary pension

[edit] Premium pension

2.5 per cent of your pensionable income goes towards your premium pension (for those born between 1938 and 1953, this percentage is less). You may choose to invest your pension capital in any of the various funds registered with the Premium Pension Authority. If you decide not to choose your own investments, the money will be invested in the Premium Saving Fund administered by the 7th National Pension Fund. Married couples can transfer their pension entitlements to each other. On retirement, the pension is calculated basically in the same way as income pension. The premium pension scheme is managed by the Premium Pension Authority (PPM).
Link to Premium Pension Authority (PPM)

[edit] Guarantee pension

If you have had a low or no income during your life, you may be entitled to guarantee pension. To qualify, you must have been resident in Sweden for at least three years. To qualify for full guarantee pension, you must have been resident in Sweden for 40 years. An exception may be made in the case of refugees. Guarantee pension is payable from the age of 65.

[edit] Those born between 1938 and 1953

If you were born between 1938 and 1953, you are guaranteed at least the pension you would have received under the ATP scheme, based on the amount you have earned for this scheme up to and including 1994. Should your national basic pension give you a smaller amount, it will be topped up. This top-up amount is known as guaranteed supplement; it is calculated automatically and is payable from the age of 65.
The Swedish old age pension system – for those born in 1938 or later
Guarantee pension – for those born in 1938 or later

[edit] Those born in 1937 or earlier

From the beginning of 2003 everyone will receive their pension under the reformed pension scheme. This means that national retirement pension will be paid in the form of supplementary pension and/or guarantee pension. As with all income, your pension will be liable to tax. The rules governing basic pension, pension supplement and ATP will cease to apply and the special basic tax deduction (SGA) will disappear.
Old age pension – for those born in 1937 or earlier

[edit] Supplementary pension

Those who have earned pension points for at least three years are entitled to supplementary pension. Those with pension points for only one or two years in Sweden may be credited with insurance periods accumulated elsewhere in the EU/EEA or in countries with which Sweden has a convention Supplementary pension replaces ATP and employment-based national basic pension and thus consists of two parts:

  • One part corresponds to your national supplementary pension (ATP) according to rules which applied before January 2003.
  • One part corresponds to basic pension based on the number of years of pension points.

In the case of someone who, for example, has earned pension points for twenty years, twenty-thirtieths of the previous national basic pension will form part of the supplementary pension. The size of the supplementary pension you get thus depends on how many years you have worked and how much you have earned each year.

[edit] Guarantee pension

If you have a low or no supplementary pension, you may be able to get guarantee pension. Guarantee pension is also payable to those with a higher supplementary pension to compensate for a previous residence-based national basic pension. Guarantee pension replaces the residence-based national basic pension, the pension supplement and the special tax deduction (SGA).
Pension when living abroad

[edit] Additional links

[edit] See also

[edit] External links