State employees in Sweden are increasingly retiring later, with a growing share now taking their occupational pension at 67 or older, according to new data from the Swedish Government Employee Pension Board (SPV).

SPV’s annual statistics report showed a clear shift in retirement behaviour following successive increases to the statutory retirement age framework (LAS).

The number of state employees aged 67 or above has risen sharply from around 100 in 2020 to just over 2,200 in 2025.

At the same time, the proportion of employees taking out their defined-benefit occupational pension at 67 or later has climbed from 15 per cent in 2020 to 39 per cent in 2025.

SPV noted that this is now the largest single age group for new pension withdrawals, marking a structural shift toward later labour market exit among state workers.

The trend is particularly visible across different occupational sectors.

In education – including universities and higher education institutions – 55 per cent of employees now take their pension at 67 or later.

In contrast, in civil protection and law enforcement, only 25 per cent do so, with a higher proportion exiting earlier: 37 per cent in that sector retire before age 65, compared with 13 per cent in education.

SPV also highlighted a sharp rise in so-called ‘jobbonärer’ – individuals who combine work with drawing their occupational pension. Their number has increased from just under 200 in 2020 to more than 1,100 in 2025.

Men account for 66 per cent of jobbonärer and are primarily employed in the defence sector, with an average age of 65 years and 10 months at the time of re-employment.

Women re-enter work later, at an average age of 67, and are mainly employed in education and in civil protection and law enforcement roles.

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