Retire in Turkey from Sweden (2026)

Sweden and Turkey have had a bilateral social security convention in force since 1 May 1981 (originally signed 30 June 1978), updated by supplementary agreements in 1997 and 2004 to reflect Sweden's reformed pension system (in force in Swedish law as Lag 2005:234). Separately from the convention, income pension (inkomstpension) and premium pension (premiepension) are earnings-based and individually funded rather than residence-based, so Pensionsmyndigheten pays them to you wherever in the world you live, Turkey included — as long as you submit the annual proof-of-life certificate (levnadsintyg) it requires from pensioners abroad.

This is the critical exception. Garantipension is a residence-based minimum-income top-up paid only to people living in Sweden, with a narrow exception if you are abroad no more than one year. And unlike inkomstpension/premiepension, the Sweden-Turkey social security convention does not protect garantipension: Article 16 of the convention explicitly excludes guarantee pensions (along with guaranteed sickness/activity compensation and survivor child support) from the residence-protection guarantee in Article 5. In practice, if part of your allmän pension comes from garantipension — common if you have a shorter Swedish work/residence record or lower lifetime earnings — that portion generally stops when you move permanently to Turkey. Confirm your specific entitlement breakdown with Pensionsmyndigheten before budgeting around a total pension figure.

Occupational pension from collective-agreement schemes (e.g. ITP, SAF-LO, or public-sector plans administered by providers such as Alecta, AMF, Collectum, or SPV) is a contractual, funded benefit rather than a government one, so it generally continues to be paid regardless of where you live. Correct Swedish tax withholding requires a SINK decision from Skatteverket sent to your payer, and — unlike social-insurance pension — occupational pension has no tax-free monthly allowance under SINK. Confirm the exact process and timing with your pension administrator and via minPension.se before you move.

Private pension insurance payouts work similarly to occupational pension: they are contractual and continue to be paid abroad, but require their own SINK arrangement with the insurer for correct withholding. Rules and timelines vary by provider, so confirm directly with whoever holds your policy.