Sweden

Sweden – a pocket guide 117
they would have been
entitled if they had been
living in Sweden for 40
years.
Some people also receive
an extra pension
negotiated between employers
and employees.
This is called an occupational
pension, tjänstepension,
or contract pension,
avtalspension. Many
people also pay for private
pension insurance,
as discussed earlier.
People who are over 65 when they come to Sweden are
not eligible for an old-age pension. They may, however, be
eligible for income support, försörjningsstöd, which is provided
to people with no source of income. More information
is provided later in this chapter.
The guarantee pension is paid from the age of 65. You
can begin taking out the income-related and premium
pension any time after the age of 61, but you receive a lower
pension than you would have if you had worked until the
age of 65. By the same token, you receive a higher pension
if you continue working after the age of 65.
Housing allowance
Housing allowance, bostadsbidrag, may be granted to young
people between the ages of 18 and 29 and to families with
children. How much you receive depends on how much
you earn and own, how many children you have, how much
you pay for your accommodation, and how large it is.
Applications for a housing allowance should be sent in to
the Insurance Office.
Photo: Staffan Gustavsson / REDAKTA
The pension
system provides
security to those
who have
reached the age
of retirement.
Many people
choose to work
several extra
years after the
age of 65 to
secure a higher
pension.
Money