The pension you earn during your working life is made up of two parts:
- The national pension, which consists of income pension and premium pension. The national pension is statutory and you earn it by paying tax in Sweden.
- Occupational pension. This is included if you are employed by a company with a collective agreement, otherwise it is up to the employer to pay.
You may also have private pension savings.
To get the best possible pension, it is important that all elements are included, and that you keep up with developments and regularly review how you choose to invest your pension money. What is best for you depends on your life situation and your age, among other things.
What is an occupational pension?
The collectively agreed pension, the occupational pension, is becoming an increasingly important part of our future retirement. Occupational pensions are the result of negotiations between trade unions and employers.
If your employer does not have a collective agreement, it is up to the employer to decide whether or not to make contributions to the occupational pension. Take up the issue of pensions with your employer.
Employers who choose to buy an occupational pension for their employees often opt for a defined contribution pension, i.e. they pay a percentage of the employees' salary to an insurance broker, bank or insurance company.
Be sure to open the orange envelope that arrives each year from the Pensions Agency, which contains a forecast of your general pension. You can also log on to pensionsmyndigheten.se to see what your overall pension looks like.
How occupational pensions work
Occupational pensions vary slightly depending on what has been agreed between trade unions and employers in the different sectors.
For employees of municipalities and regions and certain companies owned by municipalities or county councils, AkademikerAlliansen's pension agreement KAP-KL (born before 1986) applies, where you earn an occupational pension from the age of 21, as well as a defined benefit occupational pension between the ages of 28 and 65 above a certain income. For those born after 1986, AKAP-KL applies, where employees earn a defined contribution pension from the age of 21 until the age of 67.
Read more about the pension agreements on KPA's website. 
External link, opens in new window.
For employees in the central government and public enterprises, the PA16 state pension agreement negotiated by Saco-S applies. Under this agreement, employees born in 1987 or earlier earn an occupational pension from the age of 28 until the age of 65. For employees born in 1988 or later, they earn occupational pension during their entire state employment period up to the so-called LAS age. Read more at www.spv.se. External link, opens in new window.
Kåpan Pensioner External link, opens in new window. manages collectively agreed occupational pensions for those who are or have been government employees.
Saco-S has agreed with the Swedish Employers' Confederation to open up for voluntary
voluntary agreements between you and your employer, so-called Enskild överenskommelse. If you were born in 1987 or earlier and work for the state, you can enter into individual agreements to exchange salary for pension within Kåpan Extra. External link, opens in new window.
If you work as a civil servant in the private sector, your occupational pension is probably called ITP1 or ITP2, depending on your age or what your employer has decided.
- If you were born in 1979 or later, ITP1 applies
- If you were born in 1978 or earlier, ITP2 applies
You start contributing to your occupational pension when you turn 25 and continue to do so until you are 65. According to an agreement between PTK and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, from January 1, 2023, those covered by ITP1 will earn occupational pension up to the age of 66.
Both the ITP1 and ITP2 agreements have optional components. If you want to invest your occupational pension yourself, half of the money must be invested in a traditional insurance policy. You can choose to invest the other half in either traditional insurance or unit-linked insurance, or both. You can therefore choose who will manage your occupational pension from a few selected companies.
If you choose not to invest at all, your occupational pension will automatically be invested with Alecta in a traditional insurance policy without repayment protection and paid out for as long as you live.
You can find more information and tips on what to consider when it comes to your national pension, your occupational pension and the insurances you have via the collective agreement on the Avtalat website External link, opens in new window..
To contribute to your national pension, self-employed persons must pay what are known as personal contributions, for example for future pension and health insurance. As an entrepreneur, you pay two pension contributions:
- Old-age pension contribution, which corresponds to the contribution paid by the employer for an employee, and
- the general pension contribution, which you get credit for when you pay tax.
To top up your national pension, you therefore need to take out salary or profits from your business. How much you have paid to the Swedish Tax Agency in taxes and contributions affects your national pension. If you pay little in taxes, your pension will also be smaller.
Keep in mind:
- If you continue to run your business after the year you turn 66, or the year you start drawing a full old-age pension, you will pay lower self-employment tax. You'll also be allowed to make larger working tax deductions.