National public pension

Your pension pyramid may look different 

The pyramid symbolises the different parts of the pension – your national public pension, occupational pension, and any personal savings towards your pension. The size of the different parts, and whether you have all of them, is individual.
See your pension pyramid (in Swedish)
 

This is the national public pension

Everyone who has worked or lived in Sweden will receive a national public pension. It is based on all the income you pay tax on. This includes income such as unemployment benefit, sickness or activity compensation, and parental benefit. There is also a part of the national public pension that is not earned through income – the guarantee pension. You are paid your national public pension for as long as you live.

Most people also receive an occupational pension from their employer. In addition, you may have also made personal savings towards your pension.

If you live or work in another country, other rules may apply. Read more on the Swedish Tax Agency’s website.
Information from the Swedish Tax Agency if you live or work abroad (in Swedish)More about the different parts of the pensionMore about pensionable income (in Swedish)

How the national public pension works

Each year, 18.5 per cent of your pensionable income, i.e. your salary and other taxable remuneration up to 7.5 times the income base amount, is allocated to the national public pension. Most of this, 16 per cent, is counted towards your income pension. The remainder, 2.5 per cent, is counted towards your premium pension. The income pension complement is paid out as a supplement to your national public pension. If you have lived in Sweden, you may be entitled to a guarantee pension if you had low or no income during your life.More about pensionable income (in Swedish)

Income pension, income pension complement, premium pension and supplementary pension

The national public pension consists of an income pension and a premium pension. An income pension complement may be paid out in addition to the income pension. If you were born between 1938 and 1953, a supplementary pension may also be included in your national public pension. If you were born in 1937 or earlier, your national public pension consists of a supplementary pension, an income pension complement (if eligible), and a guarantee pension.
Income pension (in Swedish)Income pension complementPremium pension (in Swedish)Supplementary pension (in Swedish)

Guarantee pension 

If you have had little or no income at all during your life, you may be entitled to receive a guarantee pension, which is a basic pension calculated based on the number of years you have lived in Sweden. You can draw a guarantee pension from the age of 66. A “riktålder”, or pension age adjustment, will be introduced in 2026 and will indicate when you can begin drawing your guarantee pension.
More about retirement ages and “riktålder” (in Swedish)Guarantee pension

Housing supplement and financial support for the elderly

If your pension is low, you can also apply for a housing supplement and financial support for the elderly. When you apply for a housing supplement, we will also examine whether you are also entitled to financial support for the elderly.
Housing supplement (in Swedish) 

Survivor’s pension – financial support on the death of a close family member

If a close family member dies, you may be entitled to a survivor’s pension. This is financial support which is calculated based on the national public pension and consists of child pension, adjustment pension and widow’s pension. You may be entitled to a survivor’s pension if your spouse dies or if you lose both your parents as a child. The support is intended to cover some of the financial support that the deceased provided.
More about financial support when a family member dies

Orange envelope – the annual statement of your national public pension

Once you begin earning money towards your national public pension, you will receive an orange envelope each year with an annual statement from the Swedish Pensions Agency. The statement tells you, among other things, how much you have earned so far towards your national public pension. 
All about the orange envelope