What Does the Change Mean?
- Pause Payments: If you start withdrawing your occupational pension, you can now choose to pause these payments within the first five years.
- Extend the Payment Period: You can also choose to extend the payment period, giving you more flexibility to plan your finances.
Why Is This Important?
Previously, you were able to pause payments of your general pension, but not your occupational pension. Now, you can do the same with your occupational pension, private pension savings, and survivor’s pension. This means that you can start working again without having to pay higher taxes due to occupational pension payouts.
Benefits of the Change
- For You as a Retiree: You gain more freedom to decide how and when you want to withdraw your pension. If you want to start working again, you can do so without financial disadvantages.
- For Employers: Employers gain greater access to experienced employees who can contribute their skills even after retirement.
- For Society: This flexibility can help reduce the skills shortage in the labor market.
What the Ministers Say:
- Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson: "Sweden’s pensioners should be able to choose how they want to arrange their pensions. The government is now enabling more flexible withdrawal of occupational pensions."
- Minister for Elderly and Social Insurance, Anna Tenje: "More and more people want to be ‘jobbonärer,’ meaning a mix of work and retirement, but it hasn’t been possible to pause occupational pension payments. With this change, it’s a win-win-win for individuals, employers, and society."
Our Savings Economist’s View:
- Shoka Åhrman, Savings Economist at SPP: "A more flexible retirement benefits both pensioners and society. We need to utilize the resources and skills of older people when there is a skills shortage. This reduces the risk of tax shocks and creates better conditions for individuals to remain in the workforce longer."