On 18 June this year, the Government presented a bill proposing changes to the rules for retirement pension and survivors’ pension payments from pension insurance and pension savings accounts.
The proposal was originally put forward by Pensionsgruppen, i.e. the multi-party working group consisting of representatives of the eight parliamentary parties, which agreed in October 2023 to carry out a review of the payment rules with the aim of making withdrawals from occupational pensions more flexible. The changes to the payment rules will make it possible to pause pension payments that have begun and to extend the payment period after payments have begun. The proposal is based on the fact that the so-called “five-year rule” – whereby payments from pension insurance and pension savings accounts may not be made for a period of less than five years and each payment must consist of the same amount or increasing amounts – has been interpreted as meaning that pension payments cannot be interrupted for the first five years after payment has begun. For example, the new rules will enable a person who has started to receive payments to pause the payments in order to resume gainful employment for a period of time.
Unlike in the initial proposal, the Government proposes in the bill that the more flexible payment rules should also apply to survivor’s pension payments. This change is based on a proposal put forward by Pensionsmyndigheten [the Swedish Pensions Agency] and Riksförbundet PensionärsGemenskap [the National Pensioners' Community Association], which requested this in their consultation responses.
It is proposed that the changes should enter into force on 1 January 2025.
