The number of premium payments made to Swedish pension and life insurance products has almost doubled over the past 10 years, according to a report by Insurance Sweden.

Its Insurance in Sweden 2015-2024 report found that in 2024, just under SEK 440bn was paid in premiums to pension and life insurance. Of this amount, SEK 244bn was paid into occupational pension and private pension insurance.

According to the report, 51 per cent of the increase in premiums into pension and life insurance products was from private endowment insurance.

Endowment insurance is a form of savings that can be taken out by both private individuals and companies. Although it falls under the pension and life umbrella, this type of savings differs from a pension as capital is not locked until retirement, unlike private pension savings, which can be accessed from the age of 55 at the earliest.

“Saving in private endowment insurance has shown a consistent upward trend over time, with a marked increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, when, among other things, reduced travel allowed both companies and individuals more scope for increased saving. Even in 2024, savings in private endowment insurance increased sharply, by 33 per cent,” the report stated.

At the end of 2024, there were 57 million insurance policies within pensions and life insurance. More than half (53 per cent) of these policies were occupational pension insurance. Additionally, there were just over six million private endowment insurance policies and nearly two million private pension insurance policies.

Savings in occupational pensions can be invested through either traditional life insurance, unit-linked, or private placement life insurance (PPLI).

In unit-linked and PPLI, policyholders choose which funds, shares, and other assets the capital should be invested in, and they bear the financial risk. In traditional life insurance, on the other hand, companies decide how the capital is managed and bear the financial risk.

In 2024, 90 per cent of occupational pension companies' assets were held in traditional life insurance, with the remaining share in unit-linked insurance – a proportion that has remained largely unchanged over the past 10 years.

In terms of benefit payments, Insurance Sweden found that occupational pension and life insurance companies paid out almost SEK 300bn in 2024, with the largest share for occupational pensions, which accounted for 51 per cent.

Over the past 10 years, payouts of occupational pensions have increased by 82 per cent. Payouts from private endowment insurance and private pension insurance have, over the same period, increased by 88 per cent.

When looking at pension payments as a whole in Sweden, SEK 609bn was paid out in 2024 – an increase of 136 per cent since 2006. Payments of general income-based pensions from the Swedish Pensions Agency have risen by 121 per cent to just under SEK 390bn, while payments from life insurance and occupational pension companies have increased by 169 per cent to SEK 219bn.

“Over time, the occupational pension has become increasingly important for the overall pension for many individuals. The share of occupational pension in the total pension has grown from 25 to 31 per cent since 2006, and this proportion is expected to continue rising as savings in occupational pensions have increased significantly over the past decade,” the report stated.

Of the total occupational pension payments made in 2024, life insurance and occupational pension companies accounted for about 69 per cent, while the remaining 31 per cent were paid out by employers who manage occupational pensions in-house.

The report also covered pension transfers, something becoming increasingly popular in Sweden, and which Finansinspektionen recently launched an investigation into.

In 2024, a total of just over SEK 104bn was transferred, corresponding to an increase of 45 per cent compared with 2023. Three quarters of the occupational pension capital that was transferred in 2024 went to unit-linked insurance in another company.

In addition, 13 per cent of the capital was transferred to traditional insurance, 8 per cent to custody insurance, and 4 per cent to other life insurance, which includes private endowment insurance and private pension insurance.

Since 2020, the amount of transferred insurance capital has almost tripled, from SEK 36bn to SEK 104bn.

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