One is struck by the significance of working longer, says Elderly and Social Insurance Minister Anna Tenje (M), who is also the chair of the eight Riksdag parties' pension group.
Tenje refers to the analysis showing that an increase in the pension system fee would cost many billions.
The question of the size of the pension fee, and whether the individual or employers should pay more into the system, is a political battleground issue. Therefore, the pension group ordered the analysis of the fee level last year, which is now being presented.
Both the Social Democrats and the Left Party want the fee to be increased and the current surplus in the pension system to be used to raise pensions. It is unclear whether the pension group can agree on what can be done before the 2026 parliamentary election.
One conclusion drawn by the investigator Lisa Laun is that today's pension fees are sufficient to maintain the individual's total pension – that is, if the occupational pension that most people on the labor market earn is added to the general pension.
However, the general pension is expected to decrease in relation to rising wages, and an increased fee would not change that, even if it would dampen the decrease.
Of great significance for how large, or small, the pension becomes is whether people delay their pension and work longer when the so-called retirement age, which governs the withdrawal of pensions, is gradually increased.
