Immigrants in the Old‐Age Pension System: The Case of Sweden
| Published date | 01 October 2016 |
| Date | 01 October 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12117 |
Immigrants in the Old-Age Pension System:
The Case of Sweden
Jan Ekberg* and Thomas Lindh*
ABSTRACT
The article investigates incomes and especially state pensions 2008 among elderly immigrants
who arrived in Sweden before 1970. At age 70 and above, the level of state old-age pension
for immigrant men was nearly the same and for immigrant women somewhat higher than for
natives with similar characteristics. At age 65–66 the state pension was lower for immigrants
than for their native counterparts. The differences in pensions for immigrants of different ages
are probably due to changed rules in the Swedish state old-age pension system from 2003.
The new rules have hit different age groups in different ways. The gaps are partially levelled
out when other incomes are included. The extent to which levelling occurs varies greatly
between different immigrant groups. For immigrants who have arrived during the last decades,
the future state old-age pension outcomes are expected to be worse.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
•The Swedish Pensions Agency should set up a register of pensions from abroad. This will
tell us to what extent old-age pensions from the home country compensate for low old-age
pensions from the Swedish system.
•Better integration on the labour market is a powerful measure for reducing the risk of
future low pensions among immigrants. This is a challenge for Swedish integration policy.
•To what extent can other parts of the Swedish welfare system in the future compensate
individuals with low old-age pensions?
INTRODUCTION
There are many studies about income conditions among immigrants at an' economically active age,
for instance studies on incomes from work, incomes from disability pension and disposable
incomes; but there are only a few corresponding studies about elderly immigrants. There are some
investigations into old-age pensions for immigrants in Canada’s pension system. Marier and Skinner
(2008) found lower pension incomes among immigrants –especially among immigrant women –
who arrived after 1970 compared with their native counterparts. This was the case for both state
pensions and private pensions. The main reason was lower earnings for immigrants during their
active age. Besides, the requirement of a long residence time in Canada is a disadvantage in the
pension system for many immigrants. Hum and Simpson (2010) found 43 per cent lower private
pension incomes among immigrant men than natives in Canada. The gap in the state pension was
* Linnaeus University, Sweden.
doi: 10.1111/imig.12117
©2013 The Authors
International Migration ©2013 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (5) 2016
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
To continue reading
Request your trial