Salary sacrifice

Thanks to the collective agreements, Umeå University offers the opportunity to set aside salary and/or accrued holiday entitlement as a means to offer competitive terms of employment.

Salary sacrifice is an individual agreement made between an employer and an employee. The Vice-Chancellor has adopted a procedure for individual agreements and how to process salary sacrifice. Since these agreements need to be in writing, there are forms available.

What roles have the right to sign individual agreements on behalf of the employer can be found in the Vice-Chancellor's decision-making and delegation procedure for Umeå University.

The Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers, SULF, explains in English what salary sacrifice is and when it can be beneficial:

Salary sacrifice for state sector employees (SULF)

Salary sacrifice is only beneficial in certain cases

Employers advise against monthly salary sacrifice if the employee's salary after the deduction drops below the threshold amount for national public pension for that year. For 2023, that threshold amount is SEK 49,967. The employee is responsible for ensuring that their salary does not drop below this threshold when the income base amount changes at the turn of each year.

Exchanging holiday entitlement for pension

Agreements to exchange the value of holiday entitlement days are made as a one-off pension contribution. The general agreement on salaries and benefits regulate how much one holiday entitlement day is worth in SEK.

For more information, go to:

The National Government Employee Pensions Board (SPV)

The Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers (SULF),

or consult a pensions specialist at your bank or other consultant.

Contact

If you have questions regarding salary sacrifice, you can contact the payroll unit at the Human Resources Office. However, Umeå University cannot offer advice when it comes to salary sacrifice or pensions savings.