Arbetsgivaravgifter and pensions explained, from the 31.42% rate to ITP1
Swedish employment cost has two layers: a statutory contribution on every krona of pay, and an occupational pension that usually comes with a collective agreement. This guide takes each in turn, with 2026 rates.
The percentages that sit on top of Swedish salaries
In 2026 Swedish employers add arbetsgivaravgifter (employer social contributions) of 31.42% to every krona of gross salary, uncapped, and lower rates for some young and older staff. Where a collective agreement applies, an occupational pension such as ITP1 comes on top, and the employer pays särskild löneskatt of 24.26% on that pension cost.
What are arbetsgivaravgifter, and how much are they in 2026?
Arbetsgivaravgifter are the social contributions a Swedish employer pays on top of gross salary, and in 2026 the standard rate is 31.42%. It applies to cash pay and taxable benefits alike, and unlike many systems there is no ceiling: every krona of salary attracts the same percentage, however high the pay.
Skatteverket’s page on employer contributions breaks the rate into seven parts for 2026:
- 10.21% goes to old-age pensions as the ålderspensionsavgift.
- 0.30% funds survivors’ pensions through the efterlevandepensionsavgift.
- 3.55% is the sjukförsäkringsavgift for sickness insurance.
- 2.00% is the föräldraförsäkringsavgift for parental insurance.
- 0.10% is the arbetsskadeavgift for work injuries.
- 2.64% is the arbetsmarknadsavgift for labour-market programmes.
- 12.62% is the allmän löneavgift, a general payroll levy.
Together these add up to 31.42%. The contributions are paid monthly with the arbetsgivardeklaration på individnivå (AGI), the per-employee return the employer files with Skatteverket. Nothing else is levied on top: there is no regional payroll tax and no separate premium for workplace accidents, because the 0.10% arbetsskadeavgift already pays for injury cover.
The absence of a ceiling can surprise finance teams used to capped systems. A salary of SEK 100,000 a month attracts SEK 31,420 in contributions every month, exactly twice the amount due on SEK 50,000. There is no point at which the marginal cost of a pay rise drops, so senior hires cost proportionally the same in contributions as junior ones.
Timing is set by the AGI cycle. An employer whose turnover does not exceed SEK 40 million has until the 12th of the month after payday to file and pay; in January and August that date becomes the 17th. A late return carries a SEK 625 fee.
Which parts of the contribution fund state pensions?
Two components go directly to the public pension system: the 10.21% ålderspensionsavgift for old-age pensions and the 0.30% efterlevandepensionsavgift for survivors’ pensions. Together they account for just over a third of the total rate.
The largest single item is the 12.62% allmän löneavgift, a general levy that is not earmarked for a particular benefit. Sickness and parental insurance take 3.55% and 2.00% respectively. Försäkringskassan, not the employer, pays parental benefit and, from the fifteenth day of an illness, sickness benefit.
Employees contribute to the state pension too. The allmän pensionsavgift (general pension contribution) is 7% of earned income, capped at SEK 47,100 in 2026. An equal tax credit offsets it entirely, so in practice it adds no net cost for the employee and none for the employer.
For a foreign finance team, the useful takeaway is that the 31.42% already includes the state pension, health and parental insurance, and work-injury cover. Anything beyond that comes from agreements or company policy, which the next sections cover. Keeping the two layers apart in your budget makes it easier to see which costs are fixed by law and which depend on the agreement the employer applies.
Who qualifies for the reduced youth rate?
A temporary 20.81% rate covers staff whose birth year falls in the range 2003–2007, applied to monthly pay up to a SEK 25,000 cap. It started on 1 April 2026 and ends on 30 September 2027, according to Skatteverket’s announcement, and the standard rate applies to any pay above SEK 25,000.
The cap means the saving is largest for part-time or entry-level roles. Take a 21-year-old paid SEK 25,000 a month: contributions at 20.81% come to SEK 5,202.50, against SEK 7,855 at the full 31.42%, a monthly saving of SEK 2,652.50. For someone on SEK 30,000, only the first SEK 25,000 benefits, so the saving stays at the same amount while the rest is charged at 31.42%.
Because the reduction is time-limited, budget carefully for roles that will extend beyond September 2027. A graduate hire made in mid-2026 will move to the full rate partway through their second year, which is easy to overlook in a multi-year headcount plan.
The employer of record applies the rate automatically through payroll based on the employee’s date of birth, so no application is needed. It is still worth checking the first payslip to confirm the reduction has been picked up.
The reduced rate is a cost saving for the employer only. It does not change the employee’s gross pay or the tax withheld from it, so there is little to explain to the new hire beyond the ordinary payslip. For a team that recruits several graduates or interns each year, the combined saving across the eighteen months of the reduction can be meaningful enough to include in the hiring business case.
What changes for employees aged 67 or over?
Once an employee had turned 67 before the year began, the employer pays only the 10.21% old-age pension contribution. All of the other components fall away, which cuts the employer’s contribution cost by roughly two-thirds compared with the standard rate. For people born in 1937 or earlier nothing is paid at all.
This matters for experienced consultants and advisers who continue working past the usual retirement age. Take someone paid SEK 40,000 a month: the monthly contribution drops from SEK 12,568 at 31.42% to SEK 4,084 at 10.21%.
Employment protection works differently at older ages too. Fixed-term employment from age 69 is one of the contract types listed in the Employment Protection Act, which gives a practical option for a defined engagement with a senior specialist. Where the person already draws a pension, their tax position may differ from a younger colleague’s, so let the employer of record know at the offer stage. Our article on Swedish employment terms in writing covers the fixed-term rules.
How does an ITP1 occupational pension work?
ITP1 is the occupational pension (tjänstepension) for private-sector salaried staff under the white-collar collective agreement, and it applies when the employer is bound by that agreement. Pensionsmyndigheten sets out the rates: 4.5% on the part of salary that stays within 7.5 income base amounts (in 2026, SEK 52,125 per month), and 30% on any part above it.
The plan applies from age 25 to anyone born in 1979 or after. The step from 4.5% to 30% at the ceiling is steep, so pension cost rises sharply for higher earners. On a salary of SEK 70,000 a month, for example, the employer pays 4.5% on SEK 52,125 (SEK 2,345.63) and 30% on the remaining SEK 17,875 (SEK 5,362.50), a total of SEK 7,708.13 a month.
SAF-LO is the other main agreement-based pension, used under a different family of collective agreements and administered by Fora. Its contribution rates are not set out here, so check the current figures with the employer of record if the role falls under that type of agreement.
Both schemes come from collective agreements rather than statute. Around 88% of Swedish employees were covered by a kollektivavtal in 2025, according to Medlingsinstitutet, so for most hires an occupational pension is the normal expectation. Our explainer on Swedish pay floors covers how those agreements set minimum terms.
If the employer is not bound by an agreement, no occupational pension is owed by law. The contract should then say plainly whether the employer pays any pension contribution and at what rate, so the candidate can compare the offer with others that include ITP1.
What is särskild löneskatt, and what does the full cost look like?
Occupational pension payments attract their own levy, särskild löneskatt, at 24.26%. The employer declares it on Inkomstdeklaration 2, as explained on Skatteverket’s page on the tax.
A worked example shows how the layers stack. Assumptions: SEK 50,000 a month, so SEK 600,000 a year; employee aged 30, living in Stockholm; the standard 31.42% rate applies, since the youth and 67+ rates do not; the employer is bound by the ITP1 agreement; no benefits in kind; the holiday supplement is left out.
- Gross salary: SEK 600,000.
- Arbetsgivaravgifter at 31.42%: SEK 188,520.
- Statutory employer cost: SEK 788,520.
- ITP1 at 4.5% (salary is below the SEK 52,125 ceiling): SEK 27,000.
- Särskild löneskatt at 24.26% on SEK 27,000: SEK 6,550.20.
- Total once ITP1 and särskild löneskatt are added: SEK 822,070.20.
The picture changes for a higher earner. On the same assumptions but with monthly pay of SEK 70,000, or SEK 840,000 over twelve months, contributions come to SEK 263,928, ITP1 costs SEK 92,497.50 because part of the salary sits above the SEK 52,125 ceiling and attracts 30%, and särskild löneskatt on that pension adds SEK 22,439.89. The total reaches about SEK 1,218,865, and the pension layer alone is close to 14% of gross pay rather than 5.6%.
The pension layer adds about SEK 33,550 a year on this salary, roughly 5.6% of gross pay. Other agreement-based insurances and the statutory holiday supplement push the figure higher; the complete calculation is in our Stockholm employee cost breakdown.
How are contributions and pensions handled through an EOR?
The employer of record calculates, reports and pays them. Under Employer of Record Sweden, we hold the employer role and pay arbetsgivaravgifter through the monthly AGI, and any occupational pension is paid under the agreement that applies.
Ask early which collective agreement the employer of record applies, because that decides whether ITP1, SAF-LO or another arrangement covers your hire, and it changes the cost. The monthly fee from USD 560 per employee sits on top of these employment costs. The monthly filing cycle is described in our overview of AGI reporting, and you can contact us for a cost estimate for a specific salary.
A short set of questions for the employer of record keeps the numbers honest:
- The name of the kollektivavtal covering this role, or confirmation that none applies.
- Which pension plan follows from it, and from what age and date of birth it starts.
- Whether the youth or 67+ rate applies, and how the payslip shows it.
- How särskild löneskatt is recovered from you, given that it is declared annually rather than monthly.
With those answers in hand, the monthly invoice can be checked line by line against salary, contributions, pension and fee. Keep the answers on file with the offer, because a change of agreement or a birthday that crosses the 67 threshold can alter the cost the following year.
Frequently asked
Q01What is the arbetsgivaravgifter rate in 2026?
Q02Is there a lower rate for young employees?
Q03What does an employer pay for staff aged 67 or over?
Q04How much is ITP1?
Q05What is särskild löneskatt?
Get a Swedish cost estimate that includes pension and contributions
Send us the salary and the employee’s year of birth. We will show the arbetsgivaravgifter, any occupational pension and the fee in one figure.