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A History of the Swedish Pension System

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  • Hagen, Johannes

    (Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

This report provides an extensive overview of the history of the Swedish pension system. Starting with the implementation of the world's first universal public pension system in 1913, the report discusses the political as well as the economic background to each major public pension reform up until today. It presents the rules and the institutional details of these reforms and discuss their implications for retirement behavior, the general state of the economy and the political environment. Parallel to the development of the public pension system, a comprehensive and quite complex occupational pension system has emerged. This report describes the historical background and the institutional details of the four largest agreement-based occupational pension schemes in Sweden.

Suggested Citation

  • Hagen, Johannes, 2013. "A History of the Swedish Pension System," Working Paper Series, Center for Fiscal Studies 2013:7, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:uufswp:2013_007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Johannes Hagen, 2015. "The determinants of annuitization: evidence from Sweden," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(4), pages 549-578, August.
    3. Per Johansson & Lisa Laun & Mårten Palme, 2014. "Pathways to Retirement and the Role of Financial Incentives in Sweden," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Programs and Retirement Around the World: Disability Insurance Programs and Retirement, pages 369-410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Karlsson Martin & Matvieiev Mykhailo & Obrizan Maksym, 2023. "The Macroeconomic Impact of the 1918–19 Influenza Pandemic in Sweden," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 637-675, June.
    5. Lazuka, Volha, 2021. "Heterogeneous Returns to Medical Innovations," Lund Papers in Economic History 225, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    6. Elinder, Mikael & Hagen, Johannes & Nordin, Mattias & Säve-Söderbergh, Jenny, 2020. "Who lacks pension knowledge, why and does it matter?," Working Paper Series 2020:24, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    7. Johannes Hagen, 2018. "The effects of increasing the normal retirement age on health care utilization and mortality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 193-234, January.
    8. Qi, Haodong & Helgertz, Jonas & Bengtsson, Tommy, 2018. "Do notional defined contribution schemes prolong working life? Evidence from the 1994 Swedish pension reform," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 250-267.
    9. Adam Hannah, 2021. "Procedural tools and pension reform in the long run: the case of Sweden [The new politics of the welfare state? A case study of extra-parliamentary party politics in Norway]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(3), pages 362-378.
    10. Eyjólfsdóttir, H.S. & Baumann, I. & Agahi, N. & Fritzell, J. & Lennartsson, C., 2019. "Prolongation of working life and its effect on mortality and health in older adults: Propensity score matching," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 77-86.
    11. Hagen, Johannes, 2016. "What are the Health effects of postponing retirement? An instrumental variable approach," Working Paper Series 2016:11, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    12. Jäger, Philipp, 2019. "The introduction of social pensions and elderly mortality: Evidence 1870-1939," Ruhr Economic Papers 808, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Garcia Huitron, Manuel & Ponds, Eduard, 2016. "Participation and Choice in Funded Pension Plans : Guidance for the Netherlands from Worldwide Diversity," Other publications TiSEM 5351a381-f866-4566-82d8-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    pensions; retirement; economic history; private pensions; public pensions; historic Review; funded; unfunded; defined contribution; defined benefit; Beveridgean welfare state; Bismarckian welfare state;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P35 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Public Finance

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