Choice Wisely Your Personal Pension Savings Plan
03. December 2025Choose More For You
In light of recent news about private pension savings options that do not appear to suit Icelandic conditions, it is important to remind LÍV union members to carefully examine which option they choose. Choose wisely so that your savings go toward investment rather than service fees. In some cases, providers charge high commissions that can amount to hundreds of thousands of krónur for each contract. Many people are unaware of these costs when the agreement is made.
With Icelandic pension funds, no fees are deducted from the contributions you pay into the fund — everything you pay goes directly toward investment, and costs are reflected only in the fund’s unit price.
In short:
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With an Icelandic custodian, you choose an investment route and your payments go directly into investment. Nothing is deducted from your contributions.
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There is no lock-in period and no extra fees for changes — you can switch investment paths at any time and stop paying without cost. You can also transfer your balance without fees.
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With a foreign insurance company, it is common to sign a long-term insurance contract with a payment obligation. There are usually initial and ongoing costs, meaning that only part of your contribution is invested, and cancelling or transferring the contract can be very costly.
Lower fees → more of your money is saved for the future. Simply more for you.
Source: Pension Fund for Commerce Workers (Lífeyrissjóður verslunarmanna)