The gender pension gap is five times bigger in Sweden than in Iceland

Key findings 

• The gender pension gap is considerably larger in Finland, Norway and Sweden where pensions are mainly based on earnings, compared to Denmark and Iceland, where a flat rate old-age pension reduces the negative effect of career breaks, part-time work and wage differences.
• In Sweden and Norway, child credits give extra contributions for parents of small children, which reduces the gender pension gap. However, because the credits are paid to one parent at the time, they also create a disincentive to share the burden of care equally between parents. In Finland, parents who work part-time risk a significant loss in pension wealth.
• Survivors’ pensions play a crucial role for the pension level, particularly for older women. However, in Norway and Sweden survivors´ pensions are being phased out. In Finland, the survivors´pension will only be paid for 10 years for persons born after 1975. 
• The gap between women's and men's occupational pension is much larger in Sweden compared to the rest of the Nordic countries, 48%. The system is designed to benefit high income earners, who are more often men.