Public Pension

Every year you work in Sweden, 18.5% of your pensionsgrundande inkomst (PGI) is set aside for your public pension. This is split into two parts: 16% goes to inkomstpension (a notional account revalued annually) and 2.5% goes to premiepension (invested in funds you choose).

PGI is your gross income minus the 7% employee pension fee, capped at 673 038 kr (8.07 × IBB) per year. Income above this ceiling does not earn additional public pension.

Pensionsgrundande inkomst (PGI) is the income base used to calculate your pension contributions. For employees, it equals your gross annual salary minus the 7% general pension fee. It is capped at 8.07 × IBB = 673 038 kr for 2026.

If you earn above the ceiling, the excess does not generate public pension rights. This is one reason high earners rely more on occupational pension (tjänstepension) and private savings.

You can start drawing allmän pension from the lowest age for your birth year: 64 for those born 1963 to 1969, 65 for 1970 to 1984 and 66 for 1985 to 2000 (Pensionsmyndigheten's current projections). There is no mandatory start age, so you can also delay.

Starting early means a lower monthly amount (roughly 6% less per year before your riktålder). Waiting beyond your riktålder increases the amount by roughly 8% per year. The riktålder varies by birth year: 67 for those born 1960 to 1966, 68 for 1967 to 1981, 69 for 1982 to 1997 and 70 for 1998 to 2014. Everything from the 1966 cohort on is a projection that Pensionsmyndigheten updates every year.

Garantipension is a floor pension for people with low or no inkomstpension. For 2026, the full amount is approximately 11 988 kr/month for a single person.

To receive the full amount you need 40 years of Swedish residence (each missing year reduces it by 1/40). Garantipension is reduced krona by krona as your inkomstpension rises, and fully phased out above a threshold.

Pension income is taxed as employment income (kommunalskatt + statlig skatt), but with two key differences. First, you do not receive jobbskatteavdrag (the work tax credit), which means pension is taxed more heavily than salary at the same gross amount.

Second, from the year after you reach your riktålder, you receive a förhöjt grundavdrag (enhanced basic deduction) that significantly reduces tax on lower pension incomes. This creates a visible "tax cliff" where pension tax drops once you pass the riktålder threshold.

Gross pension does not tell the whole story. Before you reach your riktålder, pension is taxed without the enhanced grundavdrag, so the net per krona is lower. Early claiming gives a lower gross amount AND worse tax treatment in the initial years. The cumulative net chart captures both effects and shows the true crossover point.

This tool provides a simplified estimate based on your current salary and assumptions about working years and fund returns. The real calculation by Pensionsmyndigheten uses your actual yearly PGI history, real fund performance, and actuarial divisors (delningstal) specific to your birth cohort.

For a more precise figure based on your real earnings history, check minPension.se. This tool is most useful for understanding the structure, comparing start ages, and seeing how salary level and working years affect your pension.