What is Försäkringskassan?

Försäkringskassan is the Swedish Social Insurance Agency which renders social insurances covering a range of issues such as illnesses, injuries, disabilities, parental benefits, healthcare for children, geriatric care and so on. Anyone with a Swedish residence permit for a year or more is eligible to receive these benefits. Therefore, it is useful for expatriates moving to Sweden – especially the ones with families – to acquaint themselves with the salient highlights of this pervasive, easily-accessible social security net offered by the Swedish welfare state.

The insurances administered by Försäkringskassan ensure that virtually everyone living and working in Sweden as individuals, families and organizations fall under its ambit. To this end, Försäkringskassan spends about SEK 200 billion every year, which is equivalent to about 6% of Sweden’s GDP.

 

Eligibility criteria for insurance

There are two primary criteria for Försäkringskassan to determine whether an individual, family or organization is eligible to receive the insurance benefits – a) status of residence and b) status of work.

Residing in Sweden for a year or more makes one eligible for insurance. This residence-based insurance becomes void with the expiry of the residence status. However, an individual is conditionally eligible to receive the benefits of the insurance, if the Swedish residence status continues to be valid, even though she/he may stay in another country. This depends mainly on the reason for the individual being abroad and the country of domicile. Moving to another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, makes the Swedish residence-based insurance invalid.

Similarly, working in Sweden in the capacity of an employee, a self-employed individual or a contractual worker makes one eligible to receive a work-based insurance. The insurance benefits are intended to help in situations where there has been some loss of income. So, the amount of insurance is decided by the income that the individual formerly had or presently has. The work-based insurance is usually meant as a temporary situational support for about three months. Pensions, which fall under this category, are always paid irrespective of whether the individual has relocated to another country. But other benefits are conditional upon the reason for the individual being abroad and the country of domicile. Like the previous criterion, shifting to another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, makes the Swedish work-based insurance invalid.

 

Important aspects covered by Försäkringskassan

In this section we will briefly look at a few important and pertinent aspects that fall under the purview of Försäkringskassan.

Parental benefits

If you have children and have a personal number as well – you are entitled to receive child support from Försäkringskassan. As a parent, you will receive SEK 1250 every month until your child turns 16. If you have a joint custody with your partner, each of you will receive SEK 625 per month. You can fill in a special form if you want this allowance to be sent to only one bank account. In the tables given below, we have provided the allowances vis-à-vis the number of children that you are eligible to receive.

Shared allowance:

Number of children	Child benefit	Family supplement	Total
1	SEK 625	–	SEK 625
2	SEK 1250	SEK 75	SEK 1325
3	SEK 1875	SK 365	SEK 2240
4	SEK 2500	SEK 870	SEK 3370
5	SEK 3125	SEK 1495	SEK 4620
6	SEK 3750	SEK 2120	SEK 5870

 

If only one parent receives allowance:

Number of children	Child benefit	Family supplement	Total
1	SEK 1250	–	SEK 1250
2	SEK 2500	SEK 150	SEK 2650
3	SEK 3750	SEK 730	SEK 4480
4	SEK 5000	SEK 1740	SEK 6740
5	SEK 6250	SEK 2990	SEK 9240
6	SEK 7500	SEK 4240	SEK 11740

 

Even though Försäkringskassan’s official page states that you don’t need to apply for child allowance, and it will be paid automatically, this might not always be the case. It is recommended to fill in the official form at: https://www.forsakringskassan.se/privatpers/foralder/anmal_foraldrapenning#/

More details of parental benefits covered by Försäkringskassan can be found here.

 

Parental leave policy

Parents in Sweden are also eligible to receive a generous parental leave period of a total of 480 days, along with an obligatory 25% reduction in work hours if they happen to be working. In a two-parent situation, an individual parent can take a maximum of 420 days of leave, and the other parent can take the remaining 60 days. The leave period can be also be distributed between the two parents equally, or one parent can donate a part of her/his leave for the other parent. However, for single parents with sole custody, the parent can avail of the entire leave period of 480 days without reductions of any kind.

Both the parents cannot take their respective leaves at the same time, except after childbirth, when the father can take an extra 10 days leave.

Parents are also compensated by Försäkringskassan when they need to take some time-off from work to look after their child in case of an illness. Parents with children till the age of 12 are eligible for this compensation, and sometimes this is granted (depending on the circumstances) for children up to 16 as well.

 

Housing allowances

Housing allowances or bostadsbidrag are allocated to families with children who need help in paying their monthly rent. This aid is based on the respective family’s financial means which determine the extent of support required.

Apart from families in need of assistance, the housing allowance is also granted to people in the age bracket of 18-28 who have not yet established themselves, pensioners, people with illnesses, and people with employment issues.

More details of housing allowances covered by Försäkringskassan can be found here.

 

Aid for illnesses

Sickness benefits or sjukpenning are granted to people with major ailments or injuries that keep them indisposed for more than two weeks. The compensation is generally to the tune of about 80% of the individual’s annual income. Usually, the employer of the afflicted person pays for the first two weeks of illness and Försäkringskassan covers the expenses that are incurred beyond this period of time. This coverage, however, comes with a time limit, and can only be obtained for 35 days, during a 15-month period. The illness needs to be reported to Försäkringskassan validated by a medical certificate, at the earliest, in order to receive the sjukpenning.

More details of assistance for illnesses covered by Försäkringskassan can be found here.

 

Conclusion

Försäkringskassan is an integral part of the Swedish welfare state and facilitates an extensive coverage of several important aspects of the lives of people residing in Sweden. It would be immensely beneficial for expatriates to contact Försäkringskassan online or on phone or get in touch with the nearest service office and seek advice on relevant issues.

 

This information was compiled by volunteer members of SDCN to help expat partners kick-start their life in Stockholm. We welcome your comments at info@sdcn.se.

Last updated 2019/06/11