Mothers take 69% of parental leave. Women’s pensions trail SEK 7,100
Unequal leave, VAB and part-time work can keep cutting women’s income long after the small-child years are over.
Swedish mothers take 69% of parental leave. Women also take most VAB and are far more likely to work part-time when children are small; by retirement, they receive SEK 7,100 less a month than men.
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New social-insurance figures show fathers took 31% of parental-benefit days in 2025. Women took just over 60% of days for caring for sick children, and more than 25% of mothers with one- and two-year-olds worked part-time in 2024, compared with less than 10% of fathers.
Försäkringskassan says the parent who takes most leave also tends to take more VAB and work more part-time. Those choices can slow career and pay growth and reduce pension income.
The pension difference is already visible. Pension statistics put women’s average total pension at SEK 20,600 a month in 2024, compared with SEK 27,700 for men. Women received 74% of the male average.
The two sets of figures do not mean parental leave alone created the SEK 7,100 gap. Total pension combines public, occupational and private pension, and it reflects earnings across a working life. Unequal leave is one route through which the gap can widen.
The cost is also uneven within families. The higher earner may make taking less leave look efficient in the moment, but repeating that choice concentrates the hit to earnings and retirement income in the same person. Försäkringskassan advises couples to plan leave and VAB together.
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