Sweden Archives - Pension Policy International

16JanJanuary 16, 2025

Sweden. KPA calls for action on pensions investment in local climate adaptation

KPA Pension, which manages pensions for local authorities, said action needs to be taken to improve the framework for pension funds to invest in climate change preparedness in Sweden, arguing that most scheme members favour their savings being invested in that way. The SEK300bn (€26bn) pension fund, a subsidiary of pensions and insurance group Folksam, published a report on Friday on Sweden’s need to undergo the green climate transition, adapt society to a changing climate and to build civil preparedness...

January 16, 2025

News, SliderClimate crisis, Investment, Sweden

31JulJuly 31, 2024

Climate Polarization and Green Investment

By Anders Anderson & David T. Robinson We build a nationally representative sample of retirement savers in Sweden to study how climate polarizaton affects individual investment decisions. After the record-breaking heat wave of 2018, respondents in regions with strong support for a right-wing, anti-climate party grow less concerned about climate change, while respondents outside these regions grow more concerned. Those growing more concerned rebalance their retirement portfolios toward climate-friendly mutual funds; those growing less concerned rebalance out of these funds,...

July 31, 2024

Articles, Investment2024, Climate crisis, ESG, Investment, Sweden

17JunJune 17, 2024

Sweden eases rules on occupational pension payout phase, allowing pauses

Sweden’s government has decided to introduce more flexible rules for the payment of occupational pensions — following agreement on the issue by the cross-party pensions group last October. During the first five payment years, it will be possible for individuals to pause payments and extend the payment period, according to an announcement from the ministries of finance and social affairs last week. Elisabeth Svantesson, the Swedish finance minister, said: “Sweden’s pensioners should be able to choose how they want to set...

June 17, 2024

NewsOccupational Pensions, Pension Reform, Sweden

10MayMay 10, 2024

Intergenerational redistribution in a pay-as-you-go pension system

By Jacob Lundberg This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the generational wealth transfer within Sweden’s public pay-as-you-go pension system introduced in 1960. Using extensive administrative registers, the paper quantifies the contributions made and benefits received by each birth cohort. The findings reveal a substantial fiscal imbalance favouring the initial generation (born in the early 20th century), who received a net gain of $1.5 trillion in today’s present value, equivalent to up to 13% of their discounted lifetime income. This...

May 10, 2024

Articles, Pension design2024, Defined Benefit, Social Security, Sweden

21JulJuly 21, 2023

Pension Reform, Incentives to Retire and Retirement Behavior: Empirical Evidence from Swedish Microdata

By Lisa Laun & Mårten Palme This paper investigates to what extent the 1998 reform of Sweden’s public old-age pension system contributed to the increase in extensive margin labor supply among older workers seen in the country in recent decades. We use a large data set containing all males and females born in Sweden between 1927 and 1950 and observe their retirement behavior during 1991–2012. The data show that the reform changed the incentives to remain in the labor force...

July 21, 2023

Articles, Pension design2023, Behavioral Science, Pension Reform, Sweden

05MayMay 5, 2023

Swedish watchdog to scrutinize Alecta over U.S. bank investments

Sweden's financial watchdog will investigate Stockholm-based pension fund Alecta's risk management in the wake of its investments in collapsed U.S. banks. Finansinspektionen, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Sweden, will in particular investigate how Alecta measures risks in various investments, the watchdog said in a notice Thursday. The starting point for its investigation is the 1.12 trillion Swedish kronor ($108.4 billion) pension fund's investments in Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank and Signature Bank. The pension fund had a total 12 billion...

May 5, 2023

NewsInvestment, Regulation, Sweden

14AprApril 14, 2023

Swedish retirees demand fairer pensions for women

"Old ladies need more money!" a group of grey-haired women chants in front of Sweden's parliament, as their recurring protest against the country's pension system enters its 10th year. During the warmer months, members of the red-hatted "Tantpatrullen" (The Old Lady Patrol) gather every Thursday on the cobble streets of Stockholm's Old Town, right across from Sweden's parliament. They have just begun their 2023 protest season. In a country that prides itself on being a champion of feminism and gender equality,...

April 14, 2023

NewsAdequacy, Sweden

05AprApril 5, 2023

$2 Billion Loss at Sweden’s Pension Fund Has Stocks Chief Put on Leave

Sweden’s biggest pension fund Alecta has put its equities chief on leave and announced a plan to reduce risk exposure after reporting $2 billion in investment losses tied to last month’s US banking crisis. On Tuesday, Alecta said it would scale back large stakes in companies far from its home market and named Ann Grevelius as acting head of equity portfolio management. Liselott Ledin, the equities chief responsible for making Alecta one of the largest shareholders in Silicon Valley Bank...

April 5, 2023

NewsInvestment, Pension Management, Sweden

22MarMarch 22, 2023

Sweden’s Biggest Pension Fund Loses $2 Billion in US Bank Crises

Sweden’s largest pension fund, Alecta, is facing losses of almost $2 billion as a result of a failed investment strategy that made it one of the biggest shareholders in two collapsed US banks and another that is embroiled in the ongoing banking crisis. The scale of the losses has become clearer since the private pension group sold all of its First Republic Bank stake at a loss of 7.5 billion kronor ($728 million), according to Chief Executive Officer Magnus Billing....

March 22, 2023

NewsInvestment, Pension Management, Sweden

15MarMarch 15, 2023

Sweden’s New $90 Billion Pension Plan: Non-ESG Funds Not Welcome

Sweden has announced a plan to promote Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) oriented companies through the targeted investment of its pension fund. One trillion Krona (90 billion USD) of pension savings will be allocated for investment into firms that abide by ESG standards. This plan is the most recent of a series of initiatives put in place by the Swedish pension system to contribute towards the fight against climate change, human rights and other pressing issues. The wave of societal contributions...

March 15, 2023

NewsESG, Investment, Sweden

January 2025

Sweden. KPA calls for action on pensions investment in local climate adaptation

July 2024

Climate Polarization and Green Investment

June 2024

Sweden eases rules on occupational pension payout phase, allowing pauses

May 2024

July 2023

Pension Reform, Incentives to Retire and Retirement Behavior: Empirical Evidence from Swedish Microdata

May 2023

Swedish watchdog to scrutinize Alecta over U.S. bank investments

April 2023

Swedish retirees demand fairer pensions for women

$2 Billion Loss at Sweden’s Pension Fund Has Stocks Chief Put on Leave

March 2023

Sweden’s Biggest Pension Fund Loses $2 Billion in US Bank Crises

Sweden’s New $90 Billion Pension Plan: Non-ESG Funds Not Welcome