The Pension System

The plan requires a new pension system that does not make people poor, and that the current system be torn up and replaced with a revised system that does not disadvantage women and provides reasonable pensions for all. Higher pension contributions and strengthened pension rights for child-rearing years are precisely such changes, while the plan rejects the idea that levels should be saved by working longer.

• new pension systemdecisive»Vänsterpartiet vill ha ett nytt pensionssystem som inte gör människor fattiga och kräver därför att det nuvarande systemet rivs upp.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants a new pension system that does not make people poor, and therefore requires that the current system be torn up.”
• revised pension system»Vänsterpartiet kräver ett reviderat pensionssystem« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party requires a revised pension system”
• equal pensions»De låga pensionerna är också en jämställdhetsfråga och rättvisefråga – en stor andel av fattigpensionärerna är kvinnor och invandrade.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Low pensions are also a gender equality and justice issue – a large share of poor pensioners are women and immigrants.”
• pension to live on»När du blir gammal ska du kunna leva på din pension, inte bara överleva.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“When you grow old you should be able to live on your pension, not just survive.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan states that pensions shall be increased, that the goal is at least 70 per cent of final salary and that therefore the pension contribution must be raised. The counter-proposal's requirement for a shift towards higher pension contributions responds directly to this, and the plan highlights particularly that women's pensions are too low, which justifies strengthened pension rights for years with children. The plan sees equal pensions as crucial.

• increased pension contributiondecisive»Vårt mål är att alla ska få minst 70 procent av slutlönen i pension. För att det ska vara möjligt måste pensionsavgiften höjas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our goal is that everyone shall receive at least 70 per cent of final salary in pension. For this to be possible, the pension contribution must be raised.”
• increased pensions»Pensionerna ska höjas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Pensions shall be increased.”
• women's low pensions»Alltför många pensionärer som har arbetat ett helt yrkesliv, särskilt kvinnor, har för låga pensioner.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Far too many pensioners who have worked a full career, especially women, have too low pensions.”
• evenly distributed parental responsibility»De måste få möjlighet att ta lika ansvar för hem, familj och barn och att jämnt fördela det obetalda hemarbetet.« (party programme ↗)“They must be given the opportunity to take equal responsibility for home, family and children and to distribute unpaid household work equally.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto wants to raise the guaranteed pension and reform the pension system with the aim of raising pensions, and the party programme requires that the rules be analyzed so that the system promotes equality and fairness. Shifting payroll tax toward higher pension contributions and strengthening pension rights for child-raising years are precisely measures for higher and more equal pensions. The plan therefore supports the counter-proposal.

• raised pensionsdecisive»höja garantipensionen och reformera pensionssystemet med syfte att höja pensionerna, mest för de med de lägsta pensionerna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“raise the guaranteed pension and reform the pension system with the aim of raising pensions, especially for those with the lowest pensions.”
• reformed pension rules»behöver analyseras så att pensionssystemet är« (party programme ↗)“need to be analyzed so that the pension system is”
• equal pensions»I vårt nya gröna folkhem kan kvinnor leva gott på ålderns höst när livsinkomsterna matchar männens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In our new green people's home women can live well in old age when lifetime incomes match men's.”
• parental leave shall not punish»dubblera pappornas uttag av föräldraledighet — varje förälder ska ta ut minst en tredjedel av föräldradagarna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“double the number of days fathers take parental leave — each parent shall take at least one-third of parental days.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan particularly points out that women who have worked in employment and the home have pensions that do not match their contributions, and promises good security for pensioners. It also establishes that parenthood should not be an economic trap for women. The counter-proposal's demand for investigating a shift to higher pension contributions and strengthened pension rights for childcare years follows from these commitments, with the caveat that the system's sustainability shall be defended.

• women's low pensionsdecisive»Det handlar också om alla de pensionärer som bidragit till att bygga upp Sverige, men ändå har låga pensioner, inte minst kvinnor som slitit i arbetslivet och hemmet, men inte har pensioner som motsvarar deras insatser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“This also concerns all those pensioners who have contributed to building Sweden up, yet still have low pensions, not least women who have worked in employment and the home, but do not have pensions that match their contributions.”
• parenthood not an economic trap»Att föda barn ska inte stå i vägen för karriären och föräldraskap ska inte vara en ekonomisk fälla för kvinnor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Having children shall not stand in the way of a career and parenthood shall not be an economic trap for women.”
• secure pensions»Sveriges pensionärer ska ha god trygghet, nu och många år framöver.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish pensioners shall have good security, now and for many years to come.”
• system sustainability»Vi måste försvara pensionssystemets långsiktiga rättvisa och hållbarhet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must defend the pension system's long-term fairness and sustainability.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's path to higher pensions is lower tax on pensions, a pension cap and favoured private pension savings, not higher pension contributions via changed fee structure. The plan also establishes that the individual shall improve their pension by working longer, which aligns closely with the committee's reasoning. Equal pensions shall according to the plan be achieved through division of pensions upon divorce, not through strengthened pension rights for years with children. The counter-proposal's demands therefore lie outside the plan's toolkit.

• pension cap and lower pension taxdecisive»Därför vill vi bland annat sänka skatten på pensioner, och införa en pensionsgas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore we want among other things to lower the tax on pensions, and introduce a pension cap”
• longer working life gives pension»Den enskilde ska alltid kunna förbättra sin kommande pension genom att arbeta längre.« (party programme ↗)“The individual shall always be able to improve their future pension by working longer.”
• equal pensions via property division»för att öka jämställdheten vill vi därför att en större andel av pensionen, precis som bilen och huset, delas vid en skilsmässa« (2022 manifesto ↗)“to increase gender equality we therefore want a larger share of the pension, just like the car and the house, to be divided upon a divorce”
• favoured private pension savings»Dessutom vill vi återinföra rätten till avdrag för privat pensionssparade så att alla kan spara 1 000 kronor månaden skattefritt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Furthermore, we want to restore the right to deduction for private pension savings so that everyone can save 1,000 crowns per month tax-free.”

The party programme explicitly states that the pension system shall be designed so that childcare and reduced employment during the small children years does not disadvantage one parent, and the election manifesto promises increased guaranteed pension. The counter-proposal's demand for strengthened pension rights for child-rearing years and higher pension contributions therefore follows the plan. The plan simultaneously wants to enable a longer working life, which qualifies but does not overturn the conclusion.

• pension rights for child-rearing yearsdecisive»Pensionssystemet ska utformas så att vård av eget barn och/eller minskat förvärvsarbetande under småbarnsåren inte missgynnar den ena föräldern.« (party programme ↗)“The pension system shall be designed so that childcare and/or reduced employment during the small children years does not disadvantage one parent.”
• increased guaranteed pension»Höjd garantipension och höjt bostadstillägg för pensionärer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increased guaranteed pension and increased housing benefit for pensioners.”
• shared pension rights»Delning av pensionsrätt mellan makar bör vara norm.« (party programme ↗)“Sharing of pension rights between spouses should be normal.”
• longer working life»Gör det möjligt att arbeta längre och mer flexibelt för den som kan genom att förlänga rätten att arbeta« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it possible to work longer and more flexibly for those who can by extending the right to work”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan's decisive commitment is that the work line shall be protected in the pension system and that those who have worked shall have significantly better pensions than those who have not. According to the plan, increased pensions should come via an automatic brake linked to economic strength and through reduced taxes for pensioners, not through changed contribution structure. Strengthened pension rights for child years that compensate for parental leave and part-time work goes in the opposite direction to this commitment.

• work line in the pensiondecisive»Vi värnar arbetslinjen i pensionssystemet – det ska alltid löna sig bättre att ha arbetat än att inte ha gjort det.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We protect the work line in the pension system – it should always be better to have worked than not to have done so.”
• increased pensions through automatic brake»Införa en ”gas” i pensionssystemet som ger högre pensioner när Sveriges ekonomi är god« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce an automatic brake in the pension system that provides higher pensions when Sweden's economy is strong”
• reduced tax for pensioners»Sänka skatten för alla Sveriges pensionärer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lower taxes for all Swedish pensioners”
• the work line guides the systems»Skatter och bidragssystem ska utgå från arbetslinjen.« (party programme ↗)“Taxes and benefit systems shall be based on the work line.”

The plan requires higher pensions and explicitly increased pension contributions, which is the core of the counter-proposal's shift towards higher contributions. The plan moreover wants to reconstruct the system for more equal conditions, which covers the requirement for strengthened pension rights for years with children. The plan also speaks against the committee's reasoning that pension levels should primarily be maintained through longer working life.

• increased pension contributionsdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill stärka hela pensionssystemet och öka pensionsavsättningarna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to strengthen the entire pension system and increase pension contributions.”
• raised pensions»Höja pensionerna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Raise pensions”
• equal pension conditions»Pensionssystemet är därav i behov av en rekonstruktion för att skapa mer jämställda förutsättningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The pension system is therefore in need of reconstruction to create more equal conditions.”
• no compulsion to longer working life»De som är utslitna som ett resultat av ett långt och krävande yrkesliv ska inte tvingas att stanna på arbetsmarknaden mot sin vilja.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Those who are worn out as a result of a long and demanding working life should not be forced to stay on the labour market against their will.”