ABSTRACT
The Swedish pension system is imbued with social democratic values
reflecting the hegemonic domination of the Left in the post-World War II period. Although most observers link the pre-1998 system with the Social
Democratic Party (SAP), the development of the first form of assistance for
the elderly was actually introduced by the Liberals, a centre/right-wing
party. The introduction of the ATP1 pension system in the late 1950s was
designed to ‘equalize the pension status of all wage earners’ (Esping-
Andersen 1985: 108). In contrast to France and Belgium, the Swedish pen-
sion system is universal and applies equally to all workers, irrespective of
employment sector. The ATP struggle was a central political issue in the late 1950s, leading to much conflict between political parties and labour-market
partners. That struggle resulted in two elections and a referendum on the
subject. The two main bourgeois parties (Conservative and Liberal) sup-
ported the expansion of voluntary, private occupational pensions adminis-
tered by unions and employers. The Centre Party favoured a substantial
increase in the basic pension while promoting a voluntary occupational
pension administered by a governmental agency. The Social Democratic
Party promoted a compulsory, supplementary, earnings-related pension paid by employers and administered by the government.
