SWEDEN - An implementation group within the Swedish government has agreed to review the country's defined contribution system (PPM) with the view to increasing transparency, according to Pensionsnyheterna.

Social Security minister Ulf Kristersson told the local pensions newsletter that Sweden was correct in having a funded system alongside an income-related system.

But when the system was created, it had been impossible to predict how many funds would ultimately be available, or how many would actually make an active selection between the funds, he said.

He also acknowledged that the government had failed to anticipate the system's creation of sometimes marked and seemingly random differences in individual pensions. 

All five parties in the current government have agreed on the need for a review and will be represented in the implementation group.

Kristersson declined to comment on any plans to limit the number of funds - now at more than 800 - but he did say the total would at least not increase.

He added that he wanted to send a signal to the market that changes to the PPM system would be likely.

The implementation group will conduct its review over the course of this winter and the spring of 2012.

The Swedish government has already announced a review of a number of issues related to the AP national buffer funds, spearheaded by industry veteran Mats Langensjö.

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