Pension

The majority of public sector employees receive a letter from the National Government Employee Pensions Board (SPV) well in advance of their retirement. The letter contains information about how to apply. You need to contact SPV yourself and request application documents. The SPV website provides information and contact details. If you wish to retire at a different time, such as early retirement or deferred retirement, you must contact SPV yourself.

Remember:

1. Plan your retirement well in advance. Check your pension forecast on se and think about how you intend to withdraw it.
2. Inform your manager that you are thinking of retiring – and when.
3. Apply for your National public pension from the Swedish Pensions Agency.
4. Contact SPV and request the forms you need to apply for your occupational pension.
5. Complete the SPV application forms and submit them to your manager for signing.
6. Complete the SLU employee resignation form and submit them to your manager for signing.
7. Send the employee resignation form to the SLU Payroll Unit.
8. Send the SPV application form directly to SPV.

Remember to notify your manager well in advance that you are planning to retire. To ensure that you receive your pension in time, you must apply to SPV and the Pensions Agency three months before you wish to receive your first payment.

Read more on SPV’s ‘plan to retire’ pages

And the Pensions Agency’s website about applying for your pension.

As an employee you are covered by the governmental occupational pension agreement PA16. This means that we pay money into your occupational pension every month. PA 16 is a collective agreement that has been negotiated between the union organisations for government employees (OFR/S, P,O, Saco-S, Seko) together with the Swedish Agency for Government Employers.

There are two sections in the collective agreement for occupational pension. Generally you belong to section 1 if you are born 1988 or later and section 2 if you are born before 1988.

• Understand your occupational pension – Section 2 at spv.se
• Understand your occupational pension – Section 1 at spv.se

How much is paid into your pension?

If you want to see how much money you earn every month to your national public pension and your occupational pension, you can use this site (in Swedish).

See how much is paid in each month to pension (spv.se)

About your occupational pension

You can login to Mina sidor to see the different parts of your occupational pension, the value and how they function. Mina sidor is only available in Swedish.

Login (Logga in) to Mina sidor at spv.se and check your occupational pension

Move abroad

If you move from Sweden there are some things to consider.

Report your new address

If you move abroad you need to report your new address to the Swedish Tax Agency. The address is then shared with to other state agencies, councils and regions.

Report your new address at the Swedish Tax Agency website

When you live abroad and receive your pension

If you live abroad and your pension is paid out you need to annually send in a life certificate to SPV or the Swedish Pension Agency. A life certificate is a document that shows that the person living abroad is still alive.

Read more about living abroad

Life events that can change your occupational pension

Sometimes events in your life could change your occupational pension. For example, that could be when you start or end your employment, have new family relations or reduce working hours before retiring.

Read more about life events that can affect your occupational pension at spv.se

Time to retire

When you have decided to retire there are some things that you need to consider. At spv.se there is information for you when you plan to retire.

You can also see forecasts om minpension.se and consider how you want to withdraw the different parts of your pension.

• Time to retire (spv.se)
• minPension.se

How to apply

You need to apply for your pension to get payments. Since you have different parts of your pension, you have to do more than one application.

• National Public Pension. Apply at the Swedish Pension Agency.
• Your occupational pension from your state employment. Log in to spv.se to see your parts and how to apply for them.
• Occupational pension from other employments. Find out if you have other occupational pensions and how you apply for them.

On spv.se you can read more about how you apply for your occupational pension from state employment.

How to apply (spv.se)

Webinars about pension

SPV broadcasts regularly free webinars about occupational pension. They are conducted by pension experts and there is opportunity to ask questions in chat.

Webinars (spv.se)

Each year you work and pay taxes, you earn into your national public pension through the pension fee. To apply for national public pension, visit pensionsmyndigheten.se. The application should be made three months in advance.

Read more about National Public Pension at pensionsmyndigheten.se

Starting 1 January 2024, only those born before 1966 will be able to withdraw a partial pension. SPV has made changes to the agreement meaning that those born in 1966 or later are not entitled to a partial pension.

The needs of the organisation, financial scope and the employee’s personal situation will be taken into account when assessing applications for partial pensions. With the support of this agreement, employers can increase the opportunity for older employees to remain in work until they reach the standard retirement age. 

The agreement allows for partial pensions at the age of 61 for staff who have been employed in the public sector for a minimum of 10 years (120 months) and who are not receiving 50% or more in sickness compensation. The partial pension can be granted for up to 50% of full-time work, and SPV will compensate for the loss of income with 60%.  

Each application for partial pension will be assessed individually. As a rule, SLU generally allows for partial pensions of up to 20% when the employee turns 63, provided the work situation allows and that the organisation is not negatively affected. 

Granting partial pensions to those under 63 is done restrictively and there must be special reason. Such reasons may include redundancies or if the employee is physically unable to perform certain tasks.

The manager will determine how the work hours are allocated with consideration to the needs of the organisation. The partial pension is to free up time for the employee. Therefore, employees are not allowed to work while they are withdrawing their partial pension. Staff who are granted a partial pension are, as in any other case, obliged to notify SLU of any secondary employment.

The Employment Protection Act entitles an employee to remain in their position until the month they turn 69. The main purpose of the partial pension agreement is to enable the employee to fully retire at 65, hence the agreement does not apply after the age of 65. A person who has been granted a partial pension is expected to fully retire once they turn 65.

Partial pension applications are submitted to the head of department or equivalent who will then contact an HR specialists. Apply using the partial pension application form and include a written statement of your reasons why you are applying. The HR director will either approve or reject the partial pension application. The application should be submitted six months before the preferred partial pension start date.

A person who has been awarded a partial pension cannot change their minds and return to full-time work.

Partial pensions for people aged between 61 and 63 are funded by the employer (75%) and the adjustment fund (25%). For those aged 63 and above, 25% is funded by the employer and 75% from the adjustment fund.

Visit SPV.se for more information.

Forms

Partial pension application                           

If you are approaching retirement age but would like to continue working reduced hours and withdrawing only part of your pension, you will need to discuss this with your manager first. Working reduced hours is not a right, but your manager may agree to it if it does not adversely affect operations. You will need to submit a written justification before meeting with your manager.

How you apply for reduced hours depends on your age and whether you will be withdrawing your occupational pension or not. It is important to make a decision on occupational pension beforehand and to inform your manager.

Under 65

If you are under 65 years of age and wish to withdraw your occupational pension, you first need to resign from your current post. Use the form “Employee resignation” to do this. Your post is advertised with reduced hours. You apply in Reachmee and will then be reemployed but on reduced hours. 

If you are under 65 years of age and not planning to withdraw your occupational pension, you must instead apply for part-time leave of absence. You do this in Primula; select the option “Leave without pay”.

If you are over 65 years of age

If you are over 65 years of age and wish to withdraw your occupational pension, you first need to resign from your current post. Use the form “Employee resignation” to do this. Your post is advertised with reduced hours. You apply in Reachmee and will then be reemployed but on reduced hours.

If you are under 65 years of age and you are not planning to withdraw your occupational pension, you must instead apply for reduced hours using the form “Ansökan om lägre sysselsättningsgrad tillsvidare”.  Fill in the form and give it to your manager. They will sign the form and forward it to the HR-specialist.

See image - Working reduced hours

Forms

Employee resignation
Ansökan om lägre sysselsättningsgrad tillsvidare (only in Swedish)

As an SLU employee, you are able to use a portion of your salary to make voluntary pension payments.

You choose the amount to be deducted from your gross salary. The benefit is available for SLU staff aged 23 and above who are employed for more than 20% of full-time. Please note that by making voluntary salary payments, your national retirement pension may be lower. More information is available from the Swedish Pensions Agency.

Use the Agreement – Salary exchange to set aside pension payments form.

Agreement to terminate or pause your salary exchange

Rules for salary exchanges at SLU 

1. What is a salary exchange?

A salary exchange is a simple, individual and advantageous way of making voluntary payments to your pension. You choose the size of these payments and they are deducted from your gross salary. There are upper and lower limits for the size of the payment amount. The money is placed in the optional component as per the PA16 occupational pension agreement. You can place the payments in your choice of pension fund.

If you do not choose anything, the money will be automatically placed in a traditional fund held with Kåpan Government Employees Pension Fund (Kåpan Valbar) without repayment cover. Read more about salary exchanges on the SPV website www.spv.se.

Salary exchanges are advantageous as they reduce your gross salary, which in turn reduces the levels of payroll and income tax to be paid. By making voluntary pension payments, your income tax is reduced and you receive a supplement of four per cent of the amount being exchanged, as SLU’s expenses are also reduced, benefitting the employee.

2. Who can exchange their salary?

The offer is available to all permanent staff working 20 per cent of full-time or more and receiving salary from SLU.

Staff born in 1988 or later are able to exchange their salary from their first day of employment until the end of the month they turn 69.

Staff born in 1987 or earlier have the opportunity to salary exchange from the age of 23. How long this opportunity is available for this group depends on union affiliation. For Saco-S members, the opportunity to salary exchange is available until the calendar month before the month the employee turns 69 years old. For OFR and SEKO members, the opportunity to salary exchange is available until the calendar month before the employee turns 67 years old.

3. Benefits that may be affected

Salary exchange may result in a reduction to other benefits, such as those paid in the event of sickness as voluntary pension payments may result in your basic salary falling below the minimum threshold. Therefore, we recommend that you find out how your basic salary following the exchange will affect your benefits.

National retirement pension

Parental benefit

Sickness benefit and sickness compensation

Unemployment insurance

4. How the salary exchange works

Once you have decided to exchange your salary, you will sign an agreement with SLU. This agreement runs until further notice and the salary exchange begins in the month after the agreement is signed.

SLU will then deduct the agreed amount from your monthly salary plus a supplement of four per cent, and pay it into the pension fund of your choice. The minimum monthly salary exchange amount is SEK 500. SLU has approved a maximum of 25 per cent of a person’s gross salary to be used for salary exchange.

If your position at SLU changes, your salary exchange agreement will remain in force unless otherwise agreed.

5. Terminate a salary exchange

Salary exchanges can only be made if it is possible to deduct the chosen amount from your salary. Reduced salary following parental leave, a leave of absence or sick leave may prevent a deduction from being made.

6. Agreement termination of salary exchanges

Salary exchanges may be terminated:

• upon the request of the employee;
• if the employment at SLU is terminated;
• upon the request of the employer if tax rules, other legislation or circumstances change.

7. Changing the size of the voluntary payment

If you would like to change the size of the salary payment, you will need to complete a new application and sign it together with your manager. Submit the application to the Payroll Unit. If a new application for a different amount is submitted, this will automatically cancel the previous decision. 

8. Example

An employee earns SEK 49 000 per month. In August, they decide to exchange SEK 2 000 of their salary starting on 1 October. The first salary deduction will be taken from October’s salary. In November, SLU will pay the SEK 2 000 plus the 4 per cent supplement to the pension fund the employee has chosen, making a pension contribution of SEK 2 080.

The employee is then taxed on a salary of SEK 47 000 (SEK 49 000 minus SEK 2 000), meaning their income tax is lower. 

If you become long-term sick

When you are employed by the state and receive sjukersättning or aktivitetsersättning from Försäkringskassan you may have the right to additional benefits from SPV. This benefit is called sick pension.

Read more at SPV.se about information what happens if you become sick

If you should pass away

When you are employed by the state you have benefits for your family if you should pass away, this would be survivors pension and group life insurance. You could also have repayment cover for parts of your occupational pension, which means that your family will receive your pension if you pass away.

Read more about what your family could receive if you pass away at SPV.se

If you have any questions about your occupational pension please contact SPV. At contact SPV you can send them an email, find answers to commonly asked questions and login to chat. You can also call their customer service at: 020 – 51 50 40. If you call from abroad please call: +46 60 18 74 00.

If you have questions regarding your national public pension please contact the Swedish Pension Agency at: 0771-776 776 or read more at pensionsmyndigheten.se. If you call from abroad please call: +46 498 200 700.