Sweden’s government is moving to improve pensions and insurance savings through cutting costs when transferring individual pensions or insurance policies.

The legislative amendments include clearer rules for the insurance companies’ collection of fees when repurchasing and moving individual personal insurance policies.

It also suggests making it possible to move the entire value of one or more pension insurance policies to another company without any tax consequences.

Sweden’s Minister of Finance and Housing Per Bolund said: “Swedish pension savers now have the opportunity to move their savings together, get a better overview of their pension and lower their costs. As it stands today, many are locked up in savings with high fees, which also risks reducing the pension. But we are now seeing this change.”

The government want the amendments to make the options of repurchasing and moving savings in life insurance more efficient, providing better opportunities for influencing the outcome of the pension and other insurance savings.

Insurance companies would have to take clearer rules on the cost into account when they set fees for repurchase or transfer, the government explained.

The proposal would come into force on 1 January 2020, reducing costs for policyholders, insured people and those with occupational pensions or private insurance savings.

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