The number of Swedish people working after the age of 67 has reached a record high, while the number of government workers retiring before 65 has fallen sharply, according to figures published by the Swedish National Government Employee Pensions Board (SPV).

The minimum age for receiving a state pension in Sweden increased from 62 to 63 in January 2023, while the upper age limit for working increased to 69, from 68, under the Employment Protection Act (known as LAS).

There is no mandatory retirement age, however, and Swedish workers can continue beyond that age in agreement with employers.

The new figures showed a clear impact made by these changes, SPV said, noting that, in 2023, the year following the changes to the law, the number of government employees working beyond 67 reached the highest level ever.

“What we see is that the number of employees aged 67 or older has increased significantly as the LAS age has been raised [to 69],” said SPV statistician Helén Högberg.

“After the first increase in 2020 from 67 to 68 years, the number of employees increased by 700 people. And now with the second increase from 68 to 69 years, the number increased from just under 1,200 to almost 1,700 people.”

Högberg added that pension withdrawals among people under the age of 65 had seen a trend reversal in recent years. She said that up to and including 2020, the share of pre-65 withdrawals had grown, but since then the trend had been downwards.

The proportion of people retiring after 65, on the other hand, increased from 55 per cent to 62 per cent between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, in 2023 the share of government employees taking their pension before the age of 65 reached the lowest point in nine years.

And among younger retirees, trends in state pension withdrawal have shifted, too. SPV said the share of withdrawals in the 61-62 age group had fallen from 11% to 5% between 2022 and 2023.

“There are significantly fewer people who have drawn their occupational pension before the age of 63 in 2023 compared with the entire period from 2010 to 2022,” said Högberg.

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