Economic security in old age

Ida Karkiainen (S)

Madam Speaker! My grandmother Ritva was born in 1945 in Finnish Torneå, a few months after the Lapland War had ended and the Nazis had retreated, but on the way burned down everything in their path.

The Finnish families stood along the riverbank of neighbors in Swedish Tornedalen and witnessed how their farms on the other side of the river were vandalized and burned to the ground. 100,000 Finns, 75 percent of the population in Finnish Lapland, had previously been evacuated to Sweden.

Many then returned to northern Finland at the time my grandmother was born. But many stayed in Sweden. It was harsh times in Finland with memories of losses of loved ones and losses of farms and homes, and it was a heavy economic time that prevailed.

Madam Speaker! My grandmother started working early. As a 14-year-old, she started working at a restaurant in Torneå. She peeled potatoes down in the basement. She was actually supposed to work six hours a day, but it often became longer days despite her young age. She worked simultaneously as a child servant and a cleaner. A few years later, she also worked as an assistant and domestic worker for a dentist.

At 17 years old, she met my grandfather from Kärrbäck. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Haparanda. There she began to work as a cleaner at Domus, and she cleaned extra shifts at Nordisk transport in the mornings. It was early mornings and late evenings.

In 1979, she instead began working as a caretaker at the Demographic Database, after her children – my mother and my uncle – expressed: Mom, we want you to be home in the evenings. At the Demographic Database, she then worked for 30 years, until my grandfather had a stroke. She decided to retire a bit earlier than she had originally intended in order to care for my grandfather at home. This summer we celebrated my grandmother. She turned 80 years old.

Madam Speaker! I would have wished, more than anything else, that her hard work throughout her life could be reflected in the pension envelope. But it is not. Instead, she has been forced to live on the margins.

Madam Speaker! Pension is not about figures on a piece of paper. It is about people – about my grandmother Ritva, about the nursing assistant who has carried the elderly through the pandemic, about the construction worker who has worn out their knees, and about the woman who worked part-time to take responsibility for the family and who now risks becoming a pensioner in poverty.

Pension is fundamentally about respect – respect for a long working life, respect for those who have built Sweden strong, and respect for the principle that no one, after a full working life, should have to count every krona to make ends meet.

Madam Speaker! The Swedish pension system was once an international model. But reality is changing. More people are living longer. Working life looks different, and more and more – especially women – risk low pensions despite a lifetime of work.

It is not enough. That is why the Social Democrats have taken important steps during recent years. We have raised the guaranteed pension. We have increased security for those with the lowest pensions, and we have ensured that it pays off better to have worked. But we are not finished. We still meet people who say: I have worked for 40 years – is this all I get?

Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want the total pension for ordinary wage earners to be at least 70 percent of the salary. That is a pension that it is possible to live on. To reach that, we want to increase the contributions to the pension system. It is a responsible decision – a long-term decision – and a decision that makes a difference for future generations.

In collaboration through Pensionsgruppen, we have introduced a gas in the pension system, an opportunity to raise pensions when the system runs with a surplus. It is logical because there has been a brake in place for several years now.

Madam Speaker! We have also presented a proposal on worker's pensions. It is a targeted pension boost for those who have worked for more than the 40 years required to receive full income pension but who still only receive marginally more than what is paid out to those who only have guarantee pension. It is those who have labored the longest and hardest – in healthcare, in industry, and in the transport sector. It is those who have gotten up early, worked weekends, and often carried heavy work tasks throughout their lives. It is time that their work is also reflected in the pension.

We also want, Madam Speaker, to make it possible to scale down at the end of working life – especially for those with heavy jobs – without it resulting in a lower pension. It is not worthy that people should be forced to work themselves ill in order to endure until the day of retirement.

Madam Speaker! There are some voices in this chamber who say that pensions should primarily be about the work line. We agree – work should pay off. But pension is more than that. It is also a welfare issue, an equality issue, and a gender equality issue. What is most important for pensions is that we achieve growth in the economy and that people have a job to go to.

Sweden's growth has now been at the bottom of the EU's ranking for a few years. Unemployment has shot up significantly and now amounts to over half a million people. Strong action is needed here. The socio-economic loss is and will be great, and it will also affect pensions in the long run.

Madam Speaker! It is wise that we parties together nurture the stability and long-term perspective of pensions in the cooperation we call the Pensions Group. But it also depends on us having the strength to carry out changes.

A pension system that fails to provide a decent pension to those who have carried the welfare on their shoulders is a system that must be developed and improved. Therefore, we will push the issue of increased pensions, a strengthened general pension, justice for those with low wages and heavy jobs, and a pension that it is possible to live on.

Let us ensure that those who have built Sweden strong also receive a strong conclusion to their working lives. Let us ensure that pensions become dignified and fairer for everyone, including my grandmother Ritva.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Martina Johansson (C)

Madam Speaker! Sweden's pension system is unique in comparison to many other countries and is based on the principle that each generation covers its own costs. I am therefore not burdening future generations; instead, it is my own contribution to the system that becomes my future pension. The fact that the system is contribution-financed also makes it more economically sustainable.

There is an inertia in the pension system regarding change. Sometimes the Pensions Group is blamed for being a slowpoke and that not much happens. But I think it is quite good, because the system cannot withstand being torn apart but is a whole. It is not black or white, but there are many different levers to pull. Of course, it cannot stand completely still, but it is a security that it is not affected by whichever government is formed after every election.

Madam Speaker! Some good changes have nevertheless been made in recent years. Among others, a retirement age increase shall be made at regular intervals. We should perhaps have dared to take that step a bit earlier, however, since it affects pension levels. We have also made decisions on more flexible occupational pensions to motivate people who have retired to return to work. We have also agreed to introduce a gas.

Madam Speaker! Now we are reviewing the so-called basic protection, which today is quite difficult to understand and heavy to administer. For me, it is important that Sweden gets a basic protection that is clearer and therefore simpler to understand. Then the Pensions Agency can also spend less time administering the system. The future will show if we succeed with this, but that is my hope.

It would also be good to be able to land on a concept of poverty that we can hold ourselves to. What type of poverty do we want to counteract with the different parts of the pension system? Today, we often end up in a discussion about different types of poverty, and then it is easy for us to talk about apples and pears instead of apples and apples.

Madam Speaker! Regardless of which part of the pension system we are talking about, the Center Party's starting point in the discussions is that Sweden must have sufficiently high pension levels, and in that case, there needs to be a difference for those who have been in wage employment compared to those who have not. We need to work on that question to get there. The life income principle is important, as is that the main part shall be contributions to the system, that each generation stands for its own cost, that the basic protection is clear, and that the pension system continues to be individual.

We are talking about unequal pensions, but they are not caused by the system but by the unequal labor market. Here, the parties in the labor market have a great responsibility when it comes to providing equal pay within the same area of responsibility. It is not just about equal pay for equal work but also about different industries.

The best thing for the pension is to work, that there are more jobs, and also that wages generally go up, because that is how we get an increase in the pensions. Last year, the Center Party therefore submitted its budget motion Jobs, jobs, jobs, and this year we call it More jobs and lower emissions. It is indeed with more jobs that we increase the revenues in the pension system and also the individual's pension.

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Daniel Persson (SD)

Madam Speaker! We are now debating the Social Insurance Committee's report SfU2, and I begin by moving for the approval of the committee's proposal.

The generations before us who have worked, contributed to our welfare and built up our society shall be treated with respect and gratitude for the Sweden we see today. In the autumn of life, one should feel secure in one's home and when being on streets and squares, but one should also feel that there is an economic security.

Madam Speaker! The report covers a number of benefits aimed at our pensioners which complement the general pension for many of them. Approximately three out of four pensioners in Sweden receive one of the benefits within the basic protection.

Madam Speaker! The objective for the expenditure area is that the benefits shall contribute to a good economic standard for women and men, both single and cohabiting, with low or no income-based pension. The Government assesses that the benefits within this expenditure area fulfill the objective that they shall contribute to a good economic standard for pensioners. Without these benefits, the proportion of pensioners with a low economic standard would have landed at 23 percent instead of the current 9 percent. The benefits therefore make a difference.

Madam Speaker! The results report shows that material and social poverty among Swedish pensioners is low. Pensioners in Sweden live under relatively good economic conditions compared to other pensioners within the EU. Compared to other EU countries, Sweden had the lowest proportion of pensioners living in material and social poverty in 2023. One should, however, be aware that the economic situation differs between different groups of pensioners in Sweden and that there are pensioners who, for various reasons, live under meager economic conditions. The results report shows that it is the group of single women who have the lowest economic standard in Sweden. This group is also the largest in terms of proportion and also to a large extent receives one of the benefits within the basic security.

Over time, however, the proportion of pensioners with a low economic standard has remained at a relatively low and stable level. During the years 2020–2024, the proportion of pensioners with a low economic standard was even lower than in the rest of the population, which is partly due to the fact that the basic protection has been strengthened during this period.

Madam Speaker! Since August 2023, the Pensionsgruppen consists of all parties elected to the Swedish Riksdag, and since this term, the Pensionsgruppen has decided that it shall be possible to pause one's occupational pension. This may be desired if one begins to work again after having commenced the withdrawal of the occupational pension.

The Pensions Group has also decided on a surplus in the pension system. Previously, it has only been possible to brake the annual pension calculations if a deficit were to arise in the income pension system. It is a safeguard for the pension system so that it is long-term, financially stable, and does not pass on a debt to future generations. But in recent years, the finances have stabilized, and now there is a surplus. The Pensions Group has therefore agreed that surpluses in the income pension system shall be distributed and thereby increase the pensions.

This gas in the system and the fact that the Sweden Democrats and the government have lowered the tax for pensioners a number of times during the mandate period strengthens the pensioners' economy.

Madam Speaker! It can be observed that the Pensions Group has much to work with in the future. One important issue is the life-income principle, that is to say that the pension should be a reflection of working life and that higher incomes during working life lead to a higher pension. Another is the respect distance. There should be a difference in pension between the person who has worked their whole life and the person who has not worked at all. These two issues are to some extent interconnected with each other. We also have the target for the expenditure area, which can be challenging to balance in this equation. It is a challenging task for the Pensions Group to put the whole together.

Madam Speaker! Every year, the consulting giant Mercer, together with the CFA Institute and Monash University, performs a ranking of 50 countries' pension systems. They measure, among other things, stability, adequacy of pension levels, and confidence in the system.

Last year, Sweden ranked tenth and was the worst in the Nordic countries. This year, Sweden ranks sixth, and it is pleasing that we have overtaken both Norway and Finland here in the Nordics. Increased retirement age and improved controls of funds in the premium pension are some of the factors behind Sweden's rise in the ranking. The report also shows that there are areas where Sweden has potential for improvement.

The current pension group consists of all the parties in the Riksdag, which enables stable pension agreements over time with a broad democratic anchoring and a shared responsibility. That is how we get a pension system characterized by stability and long-term perspective, which have been our pension system's strong sides.

I move again for approval of the committee's proposal.

In this speech, Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD) agreed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Ulrika Heindorff (M)

Madam Speaker! This afternoon we are debating expenditure area 11. For those of us in here, it is obvious what it is about, but perhaps not for you at home; it is the so-called basic security benefits. We are talking about the guaranteed pension, the housing supplement for pensioners, the elderly support, the income pension supplement, and the survivor pensions for adults. Does it sound complicated? It is, and I will return to that.

Expenditure area 11 covers approximately 60 billion kronor. It has been two years since I debated this in this chamber. I have been on parental leave and missed last year's debate. When I was going to write this speech, I realized that a lot has happened in two years.

Two years ago, we talked a lot about the 57s. It feels quite far away now. The Moderate-led government resolved that issue and also secured the 59s, so that they will not be affected in the same way as the 57s.

Then we spoke a lot about the difficult concern with inflation, which was up at a maximum of 10 percent. Today it is down to 2.3 percent. Two years ago we had only just begun to ease the tax burden for pensioners. Now we have lowered the tax further. An average pensioner has since 2022 received 26,000 kronor more in their wallet every year. It is a substantial reinforcement.

Madam Speaker! Let us say it as it is, that the basic protection is complex and complicated. The Pensions Agency has highlighted this several times. It is a system that is simply difficult to understand. Therefore, it was pleasing that the Pensions Group in May presented that a review of the basic protection shall be conducted. The goal shall be accurate, cost-effective, and easy to understand. To reform the goal is also the basis for being able to reform the basic protection. A unanimous pensions group stood behind this.

Minister for Pensions Anna Tenje, who leads the Pensions Group, reminded us: "The pension system exists for the pensioners. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that it is understandable and effective. This review aims to help us ensure that the basic protection becomes simpler and reaches pensioners with the greatest need."

It is really good that the Pensions Group is addressing this issue. Furthermore, it is reasonable and right that all eight parties have been part of the Pensions Group for a couple of years now. It ensures that both the Pensions Group's work and the decisions that are made gain legitimacy.

Madam Speaker! Economic standard can be measured in different ways. One way I noted was Swedbank's index for financial health, which is an annual measurement. The index shows the citizens' ability and knowledge regarding savings, loans, and economic security. The measurement was presented this spring, and one could read that the best financial health is among the elderly. Of those over 60 years of age, 87 percent are considered to have a good and strong financial health. Often it is the case that the elderly feel secure with their finances. Here we see that it is a very high proportion. Many have had time to build up savings and acquired the insurance that is needed. Many are also debt-free.

Madam Speaker! How are the incomes for pensioners? For a number of years now, we have been talking about "jobbonärer" (work-pensioners). Now it is an established expression. This week, fresh figures were presented. We are at the highest proportion ever. Approximately half a million Swedes between 66 and 80 are so-called jobbonärer.

Madam Speaker! It is not only the pensions and the basic protection that strengthen the pensioners' finances. The Moderate-led government is lowering the food VAT, introducing a dental care reform, lowering the electricity tax, introducing a high-cost protection for electricity costs, and lowering fuel prices. To that comes the gas in the pension system, which was previously mentioned.

Madam Speaker! For us Moderates, pension policy is fundamentally about justice. All those people who, throughout an entire working life, have set their alarm clock in the morning and gone to their work and labored should be able to live a good life as pensioners. The Moderate-led government continues to deliver reforms that make a real difference for Sweden's pensioners.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Tony Haddou (V)

Madam Speaker! All people should be able to live on their pension and be able to look forward to a life of security after a long working life. One should be able to afford to buy that cup of coffee in town and perhaps a gift for the grandchildren. People should feel a sense of security in being able to retire at a reasonable age. If one has had a heavy job that takes a toll on the body, one should also be able to retire earlier than if one has had a job that is not as strenuous. But that is not how it looks today.

Today, far too many pensioners live with a low economic standard and poverty. Over half of the country's pensioners have such a low income-based pension that they are entitled to a guarantee pension. It was one of the reasons why Vänsterpartiet a few years ago ensured that the guarantee pension was raised by 1,000 kronor per month for those who needed it the most. It was enormously important and has led to more pensioners getting a little better off.

When the pensioners who are worst off get better incomes, it creates pressure for improvements even for other pensioners. When the pension system was launched in the 90s, it was promised that the pensioners in the new system would receive 60 percent of the salary. This has not been delivered, and it must be at much higher levels today. Vänsterpartiet has demanded that, among other things, the income pensions shall be raised.

Madam Speaker! Vänsterpartiet is now part of the Pensions Group, which decides on changes to the pension system. There, we are pushing for the income pensions to be raised so that the pensions reach the level that was promised when the system was introduced. A significant boost needs to be introduced into the pension system so that the pensioners can receive a larger share of the money that exists in the system. The contributions to the pension as a share of the wage contributions also need to increase.

The most important thing, however, is to achieve increased income pensions, and it is no secret that we want a stronger guarantee. It is also no secret that we are against the fact that the retirement age has been raised, which the Riksdag has voted on. Vänsterpartiet was fundamentally against that increase because it did not simultaneously ensure the introduction of work environment measures that enable all people to manage to work longer.

Even before the increase in the retirement age, there were many in strenuous occupations who could not manage to work until retirement. For those in a low-paid occupation, the extra years of professional activity do not provide much more in the wallet at retirement either.

The increased retirement age may indeed be reasonable based on the assumption that we live longer and thus can work longer, but the reality looks very different for different workers. Most commonly, women in education, health, and care do not have the strength to work until retirement.

Among all employed people aged 50–64, 12 percent judge that they will not be able to manage to work until retirement age. Among Kommunals members, seven out of ten are worried that they will not be able to manage to work all the way. Far too many start and end the workday with painkillers already today. Sweden would therefore also need a pension where occupational groups with particularly strenuous work simply go into retirement earlier.

Madam Speaker! We need a pension that provides redress for all those who have carried children in preschool, poured concrete, driven buses, and scanned goods at the checkout. They have carried our welfare on their shoulders and have kept the wheels of this country turning. They, like all other elderly people, deserve a secure and reasonable pension, not to be forced to live as impoverished pensioners just because they were unable to work until retirement age.

We also need to ensure that the conditions in the labor market are improved. Constant cuts, so-called efficiencies, and a high pace cause many to become exhausted at work. The working environment in the labor market needs to be improved.

Madam Speaker! Vänsterpartiet has no reservation today as the questions we raise regarding pensions are handled in the Pensions Group. I would, however, like to emphasize here in the Chamber the importance of the Pensions Group being able to move from words to action and solve the problems that exist regarding the pension system today.

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Malte Tängmark Roos (MP)

Madam Speaker! We are discussing here a question that concerns the very foundation of our society: security and dignity for our elderly. Our elderly have over the years contributed to the building of the country. Their work and commitment have been crucial for the prosperity development that we experience today. Yet we face a situation where too many of our elderly live on meager economic resources, despite the fact that Sweden is one of the world's richest countries.

The pension is not just a figure. It is a measure of respect and the recognition that we as a society show for the contributions that our elderly have made. That too many elderly are now forced to live on pensions that are far too small is not just an economic issue, but it is a question of dignity and justice. Therefore, we must collectively raise the pensions and strengthen the basic protection. We must ensure that all elderly receive a pension that is livable, regardless of how long they have had the opportunity to work or how high a salary they have had during their working lives.

Raising pensions is not just an act of generosity, but it is also about what kind of future we want. It gives older people the opportunity to live dignified and secure lives while simultaneously strengthening the solidarity between us. That people are not left in economic exclusion shows that we care about one another. But it also strengthens the common trust in our welfare and for one another.

Working should pay off when one retires. That is something we all agree on. But everyone who is a pensioner today has been involved in building up our society, regardless of what they have worked with and whether they were born here or immigrated later. The size of the paycheck is not always a measure of how much one has exerted themselves in life. Even those with low wages have worked hard and should have a pension that it is possible to live on without having to pinch every penny or go without food at the end of the month. We must ensure that we have a basic security for everyone where not a single pensioner, regardless of what they have worked with, what they have earned, or if they have immigrated to Sweden, lives in poverty and insecurity.

Pension is thus a question of equality, but it is also a question of gender equality, Madam Speaker. Three-quarters of all those who receive the guarantee pension, the main basic security in the pension system, are women. Formulated in another way, there are three times as many women with low income pensions as there are men. It reflects the unequal labor market in the past, when women worked less than men and had significantly lower wages.

But it also reflects the inequality we still have in the Swedish labor market today. Occupations where the majority are women have to a greater extent lower wages. Women take longer parental leave. Furthermore, women in strenuous occupations, for example healthcare, wear themselves out earlier and must take sick leave or retire early. Consequently, they do not manage to save as much for their pension. These problems must be addressed. But it is also clear that an increase in pensions and a strengthening of basic security is a central equality issue.

Madam Speaker! We have motions with concrete proposals to strengthen Swedes' pensions that will be addressed in a debate next year. But most decisions concerning Swedes' pensions are handled today in the Pensions Group, which the Green Party has been welcomed into for a couple of years now.

In the Pensionsgruppen, all parties work to reach a consensus on the important changes to the pension system in order to avoid abruptness and ensure that the pension system holds over time. It is fundamentally a good system. We in Miljöpartiet intend to continue to be involved and work constructively for higher, more equal, and more sustainable pensions, as everyone has the right to a dignified and secure old age.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 10 December.)

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