The 1957 supplementary pension referendum
AdvisoryOctober 13, 1957
Line 1 received the most votes, 45.8 %. Turnout was 72.4 %.
”Folkomröstning i pensionsfrågan”Referendum on the pension question
Result
| Option | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | 1,624,131 | 45.8 % |
| Line 2 | 530,576 | 15.0 % |
| Line 3 | 1,251,477 | 35.3 % |
| Blank | 136,399 | 3.9 % |
- Turnout
- 72.4 %
- Eligible voters
- 4,907,701
- Valid votes
- 3,542,583
- Invalid votes
- 10,282
Shares are calculated on valid votes including blank ballots, as in the official statistics.
The three lines
- Line 1: Employees get a statutory right to a supplementary pension that follows previous earnings and keeps its value, others can insure themselves voluntarily. Backed by the Social Democrats and the Communists.
- Line 2: Everyone can insure themselves voluntarily for a supplementary pension, with a state guarantee of its value. Backed by the Centre Party (formerly the Farmers' League).
- Line 3: Voluntary supplementary pension through collective agreements or other arrangements, without a state guarantee. Backed by the Liberals and the Conservatives.
About the referendum
The question was a supplementary pension on top of the basic state pension, linked to previous earnings. Line 1 received the most votes, but lines 2 and 3 together won just over half. The coalition between the Social Democrats and the Centre Party broke up, and after a snap election in 1958 the general supplementary pension (ATP) was introduced in 1959 by a majority of one vote in the Second Chamber.
All Swedish national referendums have been advisory. Parliament is not bound by the outcome.
Only the result for the whole country is shown. County boundaries were different before 1968: the city of Stockholm was a county of its own, and today's Skåne and Västra Götaland were several counties. The counties therefore cannot be shown on today's map.
Source: Statistics Sweden, Statistical Yearbook of Sweden 1958, table 450. The figures were transcribed by hand and checked against the table's totals and percentages.