The average person working part-time in Sweden has a total pension income that is 9 per cent lower than those who work full-time all through their careers, the Swedish Pensions Agency has said.

Part-time work lowers a person’s earned income, which determines the accrual of the income pension, premium pension and occupational pension.

The agency’s analysis found that working part-time earlier in life lowers a pension more than working part-time later in life if the length and proportion of part-time work are equal.

For the Swedish Pensions Agency's example person, the total pension is reduced by 9 per cent in the case of part-time work for 10 years from the age of 30. The corresponding reduction is 5 per cent if the example person instead works half-time for 10 years from the age of 58.

"Part-time work at the beginning of working life has a greater impact on future pensions than part-time work at an older age. The longer the pensions have time to grow, the better it is for the size of the pension," Swedish Pensions Agency pension expert, Monica Zettervall, said.

Furthermore, the agency said the greater the number of part-time years the greater the negative impact on the pension. For example, five years of part-time work reduces the total pension by about 1 percentage point for every additional 10 percentage points less working time compared to full-time work.

Working part-time for 10 years reduces a person’s total pension by 1 to 2 percentage points for each additional 10 percentage points less working hours they work.

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