One in four Swedes do not believe they will be able to work until retirement age, according to a new Novus survey commissioned by Skandia.

The survey of 1,174 respondents showed that 22 per cent expect they will be unable to remain in work until retirement, rising to 29 per cent among women.

Stress, heavy workloads and physically demanding roles are cited as the main barriers to enabling them to work longer.

However, almost half (49 per cent) of those affected said that part-time work would make longer employment more feasible.

Skandia pension economist, Mattias Munter, commented: “Given the growing need for more people to work for longer, it is becoming increasingly important to take a preventive approach to health and safety at work.

“Employers have a significant responsibility, but they also need effective tools to make a difference.”

The survey also found that 75 per cent of Swedes are in favour of a proposal for shorter working hours as long as pay remains unchanged, but this support dropped sharply if the change affects pay rises, pensions or requires more years of work.

In such cases, around 70 per cent of Swedes are instead opposed.

The survey also revealed significant differences in knowledge and circumstances. A significantly higher proportion of women (37 per cent) than men (22 per cent) stated that they do not understand how choices made in their working lives affect their pension.

Skandia noted that this risks exacerbating existing gender gaps in lifetime earnings and pensions.

“In order to make informed decisions, more people need to understand the link between working hours, lifetime earnings and pensions. This is particularly true for women, who often only come to realise this later in their working lives,” Munter said.

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