In 2026, the target age of 67 years in Sweden is applied. This means that, between the years 2026 and 2030 when the target age is applied, the lowest age for the withdrawal of public pension is 64 years – that is, three years earlier than the target age.
Aftonbladet describes that certain age limits will also be identical to the target age. For example, the limit for guarantee pension, housing allowance, income pension allowance and other grants will be increased to 67 years.
The newspaper In addition, report that this year, 2025, is the last chance for anyone who wants to retire early to do so.
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In 2026, the target age is applied 67 years. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/Trich Age becomes 67: These are the benefits
When the target age has now changed and applied in a little over a year, the big question is what benefits there are with the target age being adjusted and that the lowest age for taking pensions is raised?
The pension economist Dan Adolphson Björck account in an interview with News24 that there are several advantages rooted in the change.
– Working an extra year and waiting for the pension withdrawal for many to SEK 1,500 – 2,000 more each month life if both general pension and occupational pension are counted. There are still great opportunities to choose when and how the pension should be paid out, he says, adding:
– The lowest age for withdrawal of public pensions is gradually increased. The age limits for the sickness benefit from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and the LAS age, how long you have the right to keep your employment, have been included in this development. The occupational pension is not affected by the target age, but several new agreements have received higher extension ages. In the past, many began to take their pension between 61-67 years, nowadays it is 64-69 years.
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Pension economist Dan Adolphson Björck works on minpension. Photo: Press image/minpension
When the target age is established in 2026, this means that this year, 2025, it is the last chance to retire already at the age of 63. He also explains that the age of 65 is often seen as a mental limit for retirement, and there are historical reasons for it.
– This age has long been the standard age for retirement in many countries, including Sweden. The transition from professional life to retirement has also been ruled by compensation for illness, work injury and unemployment at this age. This norm has lived in people’s consciousness until today. But due to reforms and changes in the labor market and the pension system, 65 years no longer have the same practical relevance.
Instead, 67 will be the new 65, he says with the changed target age.
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Disadvantages of new target age
As the changes around the target age, but also the lowest age to take pension, there are also disadvantages to the change, according to Adolphson Björck.
One of them is that there are no exceptions to the target age for those who have a physically or mentally demanding job, which can make it trickier for that occupational group.
– There are special rules for the right to sickness benefit for the elderly of working age. In the case of permanently reduced ability to work, you are not tested against all work but those you have experience with. The idea is that those involved should receive continued sickness benefit from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency instead of early pension from the Pension Authority and the pension companies.
However, there is the risk of ending up “between the chairs”. The pension should not be an alternative supply in case of incapacity, he states.
– Removing the pension as early as possible leads, both before and after the introduction of the target age, to lower monthly amounts compared to later withdrawals. Here, employers and unions can play a major role to facilitate so that the work can be adapted to their own situation.
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They are winners when the pension and the target age are made about
Finally, pension economist Dan Adolphson Björck reports that there are several who may be considered “winners” with the new changes around the target age. He believes that both the individual, as well as society at large, benefit from a longer working life.
– Higher withdrawal ages may be able to change the view of working life and outdated attitudes to older labor. Probably there will be greater spread in the future and not the same focus on 65 years. And hopefully, older employees will be offered part -time work or flexible working hours to better balance work and leisure until 67 years or around it, he concludes by saying to News24.
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