Worked 45 Years - Swedish Workers Lose 3,800 Kronor a Month in Pension

STOCKHOLM - Factory workers, bus drivers and assistant nurses have the longest working lives in Sweden - and they are the big losers in the country's pension system if their bodies give out before 67. New figures from the Swedish Pensions Agency show that someone who starts work at 19 and retires at 64 after 45 years gets almost 3,800 kronor less per month than someone on the same salary who starts at 28 and retires at 67.

The statistics, produced for the union papers Arbetet and Kommunalarbetaren, show that 26 of the 30 occupations with the longest careers in Sweden are typical blue-collar jobs. Many have worked 45 or 46 years by the time they retire, yet they are penalised for not lasting until the raised target retirement age of 67.

"Ending your working life as late as possible is what matters for your pension today," Folksam pension expert Håkan Svärdman told Arbetet. The system rewards a late exit, not how many years you paid in.

Workers Work Longest

Each year a pension is drawn before the target age cuts it by six to seven percentage points, according to the agency. Starting work a year later only trims it by around three.

The figures cover Swedish-born people who retired in 2024, so shorter residence in the country does not drag down the averages. Machine operators in the rubber, plastics and paper industry top the list at 46.4 years. Roofers, floor layers, plumbers, industrial electricians and smiths follow at 46.2, welders and sheet-metal workers at 46.1, truck and bus drivers at 45.8 and assistant nurses at 45.0. The national average is 43.8. Lawyers have the shortest careers at 42.1 years and doctors 42.7, while politicians and senior civil servants average 43.7.

"Useful Idiots"

The calculations also assume everyone born in the same year lives equally long, though manual workers on average die earlier than white-collar staff - meaning their pension is spread over years many of them never see.

"Politically, they haven't factored in that those who start early and have heavy jobs may need to stop earlier," said Melody Almroth, a researcher at Karolinska Institutet.

The higher age limits have caused fury in the LO trade union confederation. When the increase was pushed through, better working conditions were promised. Former LO chair Susanna Gideonsson said in 2020 she had seen no sign of them and that the union felt like "useful idiots". Current chair Johan Lindholm wants a halt to further increases and a special supplement after 40 years of work. "Politicians have no idea what a long working life means for workers, where it often ends in the tragedy of being worn out," he said.

"Become a Teacher"

Social Insurance Minister Anna Tenje of the Moderates, who chairs the cross-party pension group, did not answer questions, and the Social Democrats declined to comment, citing government talks. Centre Party MP Martina Johansson instead pointed worn-out workers towards sickness benefit or retraining. "If I'm a roofer, maybe I shouldn't count on doing that my whole life, because it may not be suitable physically. Then you can use your skills in other ways, by becoming a teacher," she told Arbetet.