In recent years, the average retirement age has increased, and the main reason cited is the raised age limits in the public pension system. However, there are significant differences in when people from different professions retire.
In 2023, the minimum age for withdrawing public pension was raised from 62 to 63 years, and the age for the guaranteed pension increased from 65 to 66 years. In 2025, the average retirement age dropped slightly to 65.4 years compared to 65.5 the previous year. In 2022, it was considerably lower: 64.8 years.
– The fact that the average retirement age dropped slightly during 2024 and 2025 compared to 2023 was expected, since many of those affected by the 2023 age increases had to wait to start drawing their pension until 2024 and 2025. We expect in a similar way that the introduction of the target age and the raising of the age limits in 2026 will affect the average retirement age in the coming years, says Alma Masic, analyst at the Swedish Pensions Agency.
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According to the Swedish Pensions Agency, the professions with the highest average retirement age are university lecturers, physicists, priests, and doctors.
– Among others, university lecturers, doctors, physicists, librarians and priests are professional groups with a high average retirement age. Artists, musicians, and actors also rank high in the statistics, says Alma Masic.
Higher Pensions
As a consequence of the raised age limits, pension amounts have also increased. Pension taken out later becomes higher.
In the 1938 cohort, nearly eight out of ten retired at 65. Among those born in 1960, who turned 65 last year, however, only two out of ten retired at the same age.