The Swedish parliament (Riksdag) has approved the Swedish government's proposal to consolidate the public pension funds (AP funds), with legislative amendments to take effect on 1 January 2026.

The proposal, initially suggested in June 2024, recommended that the number of AP funds should be reduced to improve the conditions for more appropriate and cost-effective management.

In particular, it was proposed that the operations and assets of the AP6 fund, which is currently independent, should be incorporated into the buffer fund system by transferring its operations and assets to the AP2 fund.

Additionally, the three Stockholm-based buffer funds will be reduced to two funds, with the operations and assets of the AP1 fund transferred to the AP3 and AP4 funds.

The proposal also requires that the board of directors of an AP fund must have a high level of expertise in asset management and sufficient expertise in areas such as financial economics, sustainability, and public administration.

Commenting, AP6 CEO, Katarina Staaf, said: “The Riksdag has decided that AP6 will be incorporated into AP2.

“Now the important work begins, as stated in the bill: "The government notes that AP6 has conducted successful operations focused on venture capital investments in recent years. It must therefore be ensured that the expertise and experience that exist in the fund are preserved in the combined operations.”

Minister for Financial Markets, Niklas Wykman, said: "With fewer AP funds, it will be easier to follow up and evaluate their activities. That is an important reason for this reform.

“In addition, the management costs are lower, which means that there is more left over for future pensioners. In the long term, it is about billions.”

In February 2025, the Swedish government confirmed it would proceed with plans to reduce the number of AP funds and enhance the competence requirements for AP fund boards, following a June 2024 proposal to consolidate the AP funds. However, this proposal faced opposition from the AP2 and AP6 funds in November 2024.

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