The volume of second-pillar pension funds managed by Swedbank in Estonia exceeded €3bn for the first time at the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, representing a 29 per cent year-on-year increase.

The Estonian 2021 pension reform transformed its mandatory funded second pillar into a fully voluntary scheme and allowed participants to withdraw their accumulated savings before retirement.

Prior to the pension reform, Swedbank explained that the volume of second-pillar pension funds it managed stood at €2.3bn but fell to €1.6bn following the first reform-related payouts.

However, in the five years since the reform, the volume of pension funds has grown by almost €1.5bn, nearly doubling.

And over the past 10 years, the volume of second-pillar pension funds managed by Swedbank has tripled, reaching €1bn at the end of 2015, €2bn in August 2020, and now exceeding €3bn.

Swedbank head of Swedbank investment funds, Age Petter, noted that behind this “significant milestone are the long-term savings of hundreds of thousands of Estonians, their monthly contributions, and their belief that saving consistently for the future is worthwhile".

She argued that this result demonstrates confidence in pension saving, but also means a large amount of responsibility for Swedbank, as the impact of investment decisions made in pension funds last for decades.

According to Petter, reaching the €3bn mark is not the result of a single successful year or individual investment decisions, but the outcome of “long-term, consistent work”.

“The task of our portfolio managers is to make investment decisions with a long-term view, to help grow our clients’ pension assets over the coming decades. In this way, clients’ monthly pension contributions benefit from the long-term growth of global companies, the economy and capital markets,” she added.

Swedbank also reported that monthly contributions to the second pillar have increased in recent years, driven by both wage increases and people’s decision to increase their pension contributions.

Approximately 225,000 people are saving for their pension in Swedbank's second-pillar funds.

Furthermore, Swedbank highlighted that third pillar pension funds have continued to experience strong growth, as at the end of June 2026 the volume of assets under management amounted to €419m. This is a 36 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Swedbank’s market share in third pillar pension funds was over 31 per cent; however, the bank’s market share in second-pillar pension funds remains the largest, at nearly 40 per cent.

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