I’m grateful I understood early on that the state pension would never come close to replacing my salary, no matter how long I worked. That’s why I started saving privately even before I turned 25.

Thirty-one years later, a lot has changed — both in the Swedish pension system and in society at large. Now a new threat is appearing on the horizon: the sharp decline in childbearing.

Sweden has gone from being one of the EU’s top countries for newborns to landing firmly in the middle, with roughly 1.4 children per woman. Fewer children today means fewer future workers and taxpayers tomorrow. Schools and businesses will feel it. The economy will feel it. And eventually, so will our pensions.

If nothing changes, the state pension could be significantly lower than today’s projections.

When I retire in 11 years, I will have worked and paid into the system for a total of 42 years.

I’m starting to wonder if I’ll be happy just to get anything at all from the state pension.

Or maybe I should just be grateful that my paranoid 24-year-old self had better foresight than the Swedish pension system ever will.

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This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

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