How Avtalspension SAF-LO works
When you work at a company that has a collective agreement, your employer pays money into your occupational pension, which is a collective pension called Avtalspension SAF-LO.
Facts about your occupational pension
- Money will be paid in from the month in which you turn 22 up until you turn 65.
- Your employer pays in an amount corresponding to at least 4.5% of your pay into your occupational pension. For example, if you have a monthly salary of SEK 30,000, you will consequently earn at least SEK 1,350 into your occupational pension every month.
- For the part of your salary that exceeds an amount corresponding to SEK 50,375 per month, your employer pays in 30%.
- There is an insurance scheme that pays money into your occupational pension if you are on parental leave or on long-term sick leave. This insurance ensures that you do not miss out on pension funds at times when you are not receiving your regular salary. You have to apply for this yourself from Afa Försäkring, a Swedish insurance company.
Invest your occupational pension
You can choose what type of saving you want to use for your occupational pension.
- Traditional insurance – the pension company determines how your money is to be invested. The risk is lower and you are guaranteed a certain pension.
- Unit-linked insurance – you can yourself influence how your money is to be invested, and you decide for yourself what risk level you want to have.
- If you don’t want to choose, your money will be invested in a traditional insurance scheme with AMF, a Swedish pension company.
Financial compensation to your family in the event of your death
You can choose to add extra cover that can provide compensation to your family in the event of your death.
- Repayment cover – your family receives the money you have saved for your occupational pension in the event of your death.
- Family cover – insurance that provides your family with money in the event of your death before reaching the age of 65. You choose the size of the amount they will receive and the length of time the payments will continue.
View your occupational pension and make your choices at Fora
Fora administers your occupational pension. By logging into fora.se, you can obtain an overview of how much your employer has paid into your occupational pension. You can also make choices, change selections or move your pension funds.
Part-time pension
Part-time pension means both that your employer pays in additional money into your occupational pension, and that you can have the opportunity to reduce your working hours towards the end of your working life. This applies within certain collective agreements.
Plan for your retirement
If you work at a company with a collective agreement, you’ll get your pension from different sources – the general pension paid out by Pensionsmyndigheten, the Swedish Pensions Agency and the occupational pension, which can be with various pension companies.
Where your pension comes from
Since the general pension and the occupational pension come from different places, there are a few different rules. By logging in to minpension.se (only in Swedish), you can get a good overview of your total pension.
National public pension is the one you’re entitled to by law and is paid out by Pensionsmyndigheten, the Swedish Pension Agency. You can start taking out your general pension from the age of 63. Remember, you need to apply to Pensionsmyndigheten preferably three months before you want the payments to start.
You can start taking out your occupational pension, Avtalspension SAF-LO when you turn 55. Contact the pension company managing your occupational pension to agree on when the payments should start. Not sure which pension company or companies you have? Log in to Fora to check.
More flexible rules when taking out your occupational pension
Soon, you’ll be able to pause your occupational pension payments. You’ll also have the option to extend the payment period. Maybe you want to start working again and pause your payments. Here’s how it works:
- Contact the pension company that’s paying out your occupational pension directly.
- You can pause your payments and extend the payment period multiple times.
- You can pause and extend regardless of when your occupational pension payments started.
- The pension company won’t charge any fees.
- You don’t need to undergo a health check.
Preliminary dates for more flexible withdrawals
For Avtalspension SAF-LO, the flexible rules should be in place by January 1, 2026, at the latest. But there’s nothing stopping pension companies from offering these options earlier.