A review of the Swedish national pension system has begun with the appointment of a working group, headed by industry professionals Johannes Hagen and Hannes Nilsson.

The Swedish government announced the review in May and is backed by the country’s Pensions Group, which consists of representatives from all parliamentary political parties. The formation of the working group, which will sit in the government offices, is part of a two-step review of the pension system.

It has been tasked with producing a report by 15 June 2026, before an inquiry into the pension system is launched.

Sweden’s Minister for Elderly and Social Insurance, Anna Tenje, has appointed Hagen, an associate professor of economics at Jönköping International Business School, to lead the working group and Nilsson, head of the Swedish Pensions Agency's Analysis Department, to be secretary of the working group.

“The pension system is there for pensioners. It is therefore of the utmost importance that it is understandable and efficient. I am pleased that Johannes Hagen and Hannes Nilsson, with solid expertise in the field of pensions, are taking on this complex but important task," Tenje said.

The country’s national pension system provides all citizens with basic protection in retirement. It includes the guaranteed pension, in addition to four other tax-funded benefits aimed at supplementing an insufficient income-based pension.
These are housing supplement, special housing supplement, support for the elderly and income pension supplement.

These benefits have been introduced at different times and for different purposes.

All benefits are tested against an income, but in different ways, which makes the basic protection complex and often difficult to understand.

The working group, within the framework of the Pension Group's remit, has been tasked with analysing the problems of the current basic protection scheme and proposing a direction for a reformed basic protection scheme and the groups it should target.

It has also been requested to develop objectives for basic protection that are, as far as possible, accurate, cost-effective, and easy to understand; and to draw up proposals for terms of reference for a study that will produce one or more concrete proposals for a reformed basic cover.

An important part of this is to specifically analyse the consequences of the proposals for individuals, gender equality, the pension system, the state budget, goal attainment and incentives to work.

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