Social

Insurance
About Social Insurance
Social insurance is an integral part of the Swedish social
­security system. The Swedish social insurance covers mainly
every­one that lives or works in Sweden. It provides finan-
cial p
­ rotection for families and children, for persons with
a ­disability and in connection with work injury, illness and
old age. Through the Swedish membership in the European
­Union, you may also be eligible for social insurance benefits
in other EU member states if you or anyone in your family
resides or works in any outher EU member states.
Welcome to Försäkrings­­
kassan [the Swedish
Social Insurance Agency]
This brochure gives a brief introduction to social insurance
in Sweden. Social insurance is founded on the idea of people
helping each other through a kind of social safety net, which
is in place from birth to retirement.

Försäkringskassan’s role is to administer social insurance and

to ensure that you get the benefits and allowances you are
entitled to. To be covered by or be eligible for a social insur-
ance benefit, you must, as a rule, either be resident in Sweden
or work here. Examples of residence-based benefits are child
allowance [barnbidrag] and housing allowance [bostadsbidrag].
If you work in Sweden, you are insured for employment-based
benefits, which include sickness benefit [sjukpenning] and
rehabilitation allowance [rehabiliterings­ersättning]. If you plan to
move abroad, information is available in the Swedish brochure
“Bo eller ­arbeta utomlands” [“Living and working abroad”].
As you can see, social insurance is a source of security for
most people. At present, you may be unaware of when or how
you come into contact with it. However, it may be useful to
know that it exists, at whatever stage of your life you are.
Contents

1 Security for everyone Sid 6

Why do we have a social insurance system? _______________6
How did social insurance come about? ____________________6
The development of social insurance _ ____________________ 7

2 If you fall ill Sid 8

How health insurance works _ ____________________________8
Disease carriers ________________________________________ 10
Care of relatives ________________________________________ 10
Activity compensation _ ________________________________ 10
Sickness compensation _________________________________11
Dormant sickness and activity compensation ____________ 12
Rehabilitation __________________________________________ 12
Dental care ____________________________________________ 13

3 If you fall ill abroad Sid 14

In EU and EEA countries and Switzerland ________________ 14
Outside the EU/EEA _ __________________________________ 14

4 If you are pregnant Sid 15

Adoption allowance ____________________________________ 15
Pregnancy rights _______________________________________ 15
Pregnancy benefit _ ____________________________________ 15

5 For families with children Sid 17

Parental benefit ________________________________________ 17
Temporary parental benefit _____________________________ 17
Paternity leave _________________________________________ 18
Child allowance and large family supplement
[flerbarnstillägg] _______________________________________ 18
Childcare allowance ____________________________________ 19
Maintenance ___________________________________________ 19
Maintenance support ___________________________________ 19
6 If you have a disability Sid 23
Disability allowance ____________________________________23
Attendance allowance __________________________________23
Car allowance _________________________________________ 24

7 If you are injured at work Sid 31

Occupational injury insurance ___________________________ 31
Annuity _ ______________________________________________ 31

8 If you are taking part in a labour

market programme Sid 33
Activity grants _________________________________________33

9 Help with the cost of housing Sid 34

Housing allowance ____________________________________ 34

10 If you are an employer Sid 35

Insurance against sick pay costs _________________________35

11 General rules Sid 36

Dissatisfied with the decision? _ ________________________ 36
Taxation and income tax return _________________________ 36
Price base amount _ ___________________________________ 36

12 Social insurance in practice Sid 37

From proposal to a new law or amendment to a law _______37
Who manages social insurance? _________________________37
Obligations ____________________________________________37
1 Security for everyone

Why do we have a social

insurance system?
Social insurance aims to provide financial security at every
stage of life. It therefore mainly provides support to those
who are ill, disabled, parents and pensioners.

How did social insurance come about?

In earlier periods of social policy, it was known as poor
relief and was mainly intended to counter poverty and mass
death. In the mid-19th century, Sweden started to become
industrialised. Apace with the growth of industry, people
left the old artisan and peasant society for employment in
factories. Housing conditions were very poor, the work was
heavy and dirty, and labour protection was non-existent. As
people became more dependent on income in the form of
money and not of goods, financial vulnerability increased in
connection with ill health, accidents at work and old age. De-
mands for social reforms grew, and against the background
of a situation where ordinary people were more vulnerable
in society than before, social security as we know it today
began to develop. This took time, however – more than a
hundred years. At the end of the 19th century, people started
to come together and established what were known as sick
benefit societies to support each other in an emergency.

6
The development of social insurance
It was not until 1931 that these societies were recognised by
the state and given the name health insurance funds, receiv-
ing state funding for their operations. In 1955, the basis was
laid for the present Försäkringskassan. Unlike the old health
insurance fund, membership was compulsory. A lot has hap-
pened since then in this area and now everyone who lives
or works in Sweden is covered by social insurance – insur-
ance characterised by the notion that the obligation to pay
contributions and taxes confers entitlement to a share in
social welfare when we are in need of it. The main aim is to
guarantee the population a certain level of security in their
lives. Throughout the 20th century, reforms were gradually
introduced and many improvements were made. Some of the
most important changes are listed in the following section.

Milestones in the 20th century

1901 Act on Compensation in the event of an Accident at
Work
1914 National Old Age Pension Act [folkpension]
1948 Child allowance
1955 National health insurance with income-related
sickness benefit and subsidised health care
1955 Occupational injury insurance
[Yrkesskadeförsäkring]
1960 ATP, national supplementary pension [ATP, allmän
tilläggspension]
1974 Parental insurance [Föräldraförsäkring]
1977 New occupational injury insurance scheme
[Arbetsskadeförsäkring]

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2 If you fall ill

How health insurance works

Sick pay
If you are employed and fall ill, you must report sick to your
employer. If you are employed for at least a month or have
worked for fourteen consecutive days, you are entitled to
sick pay from your employer for the first 14 days of your
illness. No payment is made for the first day (the ”waiting
period”). If you are still ill after 14 days, your employer will
notify Försäkringskassan of your illness. When you are well
again, you must provide your employer with written assur-
ance that you have been ill and specifying the extent of your
absence from work.

Sickness benefit
If you are not entitled to sick pay, you may be able to get
sickness benefit from Försäkringskassan. In this case, you
must notify Försäkringskassan that you are ill. You may also
be entitled to sickness benefit when you have been ill for 14
days and are no longer receiving sick pay from your employ-
er. Försäkringskassan assesses your entitlement to sickness
benefit.

A long period of illness

If you are ill for more than seven days, you will normally be
expected to produce a medical certificate in order to con-
tinue to receive sick pay or sickness benefit. You can receive
sickness benefit for at most 364 days during a 450-day

8
period (around 15 months). If your work capacity is still
reduced after a year, you can apply for extended sickness
benefit. If you have a very serious illness, you can apply for
continued sickness benefit. There is no limit to the length of
time that continued sickness benefit can be paid for.

If you become unemployed

If you become unemployed, it is important that you register
within three months of the day on which your work ceased
with the Employment Service [Arbets­förmedlingen]. The reason
is that when you no longer have income from work, the main
rule is that your previous fixed sickness benefit qualifying
annual income [SGI] ceases to apply. In some circumstances,
however, it is possible to keep your SGI despite your not
working. This is the case, for instance, if you are unem-
ployed and have registered with the Employment Service as
looking for work.

Travel allowance instead of sick pay or sickness benefit

In certain cases you may qualify for a travel allowance in-
stead of sick pay or sickness benefit. This is the case if your
employer or Försäkringskassan consider that you are able to
work but are unable to get to work in the normal way. Your
employer or Försäkrings­kassan will then pay a reasonable
allowance for your additional expenses for travel to and
from work.

Complete or partial incapacity for work

You may draw a quarter, half, three-quarter or full sickness
benefit, depending on the extent to which you are unable to
work. Försäkringskassan assesses your entitlement to sick-
ness benefit and decides whether you are able to carry out
your work full-time or part-time despite your illness.

Assessment of work capacity

During the first 90 days you are on sick leave, you are enti-
tled to sickness benefit if you cannot carry out your ordi-
nary work. You are subsequently entitled to sickness benefit
only if you cannot perform any work for your employer.

9
After 180 days, you are entitled to sickness benefit only if
you cannot carry out any work at all in the regular labour
market.

If you are self-employed

If you are self-employed, you pay your own health insurance
contribution. You can reduce your contribution by choosing
a longer waiting period. You can choose to have either 14,
30, 60 or 90 days waiting period.

If you are a student

A number of different rules about entitlement to sickness
benefit apply to students. You should therefore contact
Försäkringskassan, who can tell you exactly what applies in
your particular case, or go to www.forsakringskassan.se.

Disease carriers
If you have or are suspected to have an infectious disease
but are still fit for work, or if you are carrying or suspected
of carrying an infection without being ill, you may be able
to obtain benefit from Försäkringskassan in the form of
disease carrier’s allowance [smittbärarpenning]. You are also
entitled to disease carrier’s allowance if you have to stay
away from work as a result of a decision under the Commu-
nicable Diseases Act or the Food Act.

Care of relatives
If you stay away from work to look after a seriously ill rela-
tive, you may be able to get benefit for care of closely related
persons [närståendepenning] from Försäkringskassan and be
entitled to time off work.

Activity compensation
If you are aged between 19 and 29, you may be eligible for
activity compensation if your work capacity is reduced by at
least a quarter for at least a year. You may have full, three-

10
quarter, half or a quarter activity compensation, depending
on how much your work capacity is reduced and your ability
to support yourself through work.

Extended schooling due to disability

If you have a disability, which obliges you to attend compul-
sory school or upper secondary school for a longer period,
you will be entitled to activity compensation while you are
at school, without your work capacity being assessed.

Activities
While you are receiving activity compensation, you have
an opportunity to take part in activities which are aimed at
providing you with the means to improve your work capaci-
ty. A condition of this is that the activities may be presumed
to have a beneficial effect on the circumstances causing the
reduction in your work capacity.

Sickness compensation
If you are aged between 30 and 64, you may be able to
receive sickness compensation if your work capacity is
permanently reduced by at least a quarter. You may have
full, three-quarter, half or a quarter activity compensation,
depending on how much your work capacity is reduced and
your ability to support yourself through work.

Size of sickness and activity compensation

Sickness or activity compensation is paid as an income-
related benefit and as guarantee benefit [garantiersättning].
Income-related benefit is based on your income from em-
ployment. You get guarantee benefit if you have had low or
no income. Guarantee benefit is intended to provide basic
financial protection regardless of previous income from
employment.

11
Dormant sickness and activity
compensation
If you are receiving sickness or activity compensation, you
have the possibility of working without losing your entitle-
ment to compensation. This is called dormant sickness or
activity compensation. When you have received sickness or
activity compensation for at least a year and want to try to
see whether you can cope with working, you can apply for
a trial period during which you receive compensation and
pay at the same time. If your attempt to work is successful,
you can apply to have your compensation made dormant.
The trial period and the period with dormant compensa-
tion may together last for up to 24 calendar months or
for the remaining period for which you have been granted
compensation.

Rehabilitation
Sometimes when on sick leave, you need support to be able
to start work again. Rehabilitation is a generic term for all
measures of medical, psychological, social and work-related
nature that are intended to help ill and injured people to re-
gain the best possible capacity and conditions for a normal
life.

Different authorities are responsible for different areas.

Health care is responsible for medical treatment and re-
habilitation. The employer or the employment service is
responsible for work-related measures and the municipality
is responsible for social measures.

Försäkringskassan coordinates society’s various measures

for your rehabilitation and is responsible for attending to
your need for rehabilitation to be able to return to work.
Försäkringskassan should also take the initiative and coor-
dinate the measures needed. Försäkringskassan can support
you where necessary in your contact with authorities and
others so that you receive the rehabilitation you need.

12
Dental care
Everyone who lives in Sweden can receive subsidised dental
care [tandvårdsstöd] from the age of 20. Dental care is free of
charge for children and young people under 20.

Subsidised dental care consists of two components. Den-

tal care allowance [tandvårdsbidrag] which is primarily
intended for examinations and preventive care and a high-
cost protection [högkostnadsskydd]. The high-cost protection
means that you only pay part of the cost of major treatment
yourself. Försäkringskassan then pays the remaining cost
directly to your dentist.

13
3 If you fall ill abroad

If you travel abroad for a shorter period, you may be entitled

to medical treatment in certain countries. The countries in
question are those with which Sweden has an agreement.

It can be a good idea to supplement the basic protection pro-

vided by social insurance with travel protection from your
home insurance or private travel insurance.

In EU and EEA countries and

Switzerland
If you are insured in Sweden, you are entitled to medical
treatment that you need during a temporary stay in another
EU/EEA country or in Switzerland. You are entitled to treat-
ment on the same financial conditions as others who are
insured in the country where you are seeking treatment. Ac-
cordingly, when patient charges are levied, you pay the same
charges as the country’s own inhabitants. The requirement
is that you must use a care facility which is affiliated to the
public health care system. Don’t forget to take your Europe-
an health insurance card [europeiska sjukförsäkringskortet] with
you on your journey!

Outside the EU/EEA

You may also be entitled to health care benefits in coun-
tries outside the EU/EEA. This is the case in countries with
which Sweden has an agreement. You should always contact
Försäkringskassan well in advance of your journey and ask
for the certificates you need.

14
If you are pregnant 4

Adoption allowance
If you are adopting a child from abroad, you can apply
to Försäkringskassan for an adoption allowance. You are
eligible for an allowance for adoptions for which a Swedish
court has given permission and for adoptions approved by
The Swedish Council for Intercountry Adoptions [NIA (Statens
Nämnd för Internationella Adoptionsfrågor)]. A decision from the
country of origin which applies in Sweden under the terms
of the Hague Convention is of equal validity as a decision
made by a Swedish court.

Pregnancy rights
If you are pregnant, you are entitled to be transferred to
other duties if you have a physically demanding job that you
cannot continue as a result of pregnancy or if you have been
suspended from your job under the Work Environment Act.

Pregnancy benefit
If your employer is unable to transfer you, you may be able
to draw pregnancy benefit if:
• Your work capacity is reduced by a least a quarter due
to your pregnancy and you have a physically demanding
job or if you have a job that you are not able to do be-
cause of risks in the working environment.

If you have physically demanding work, you can draw

pregnancy benefit for up to 50 days, starting at the earliest

15
60 days before the expected delivery date. If you have been
forbidden to continue working under the Work Environment
Act, you may draw pregnancy benefit for each day to which
this prohibition applies. You are not eligible for pregnancy
benefit for the last ten days before the expected delivery
date. If your duties allow you to work part of the day, you
may apply for three-quarter, half or quarter pregnancy
benefit.

16
For families with 5
children

Parental benefit
If you have children, you are also entitled to parental benefit
if you stay away from work to look after the child. Parental
benefit is payable for 480 days for children born in 2002 or
later and for 450 days for children born before 2002. The
parental benefit days are always shared equally between
both parents. One parent may give up the right to parental
benefit to the other parent with the exception of 30 days
for children born before 2002 and 60 days for children born
from 2002 or later. If you are a lone parent, you are entitled
to all these days yourself. If you are the mother, you can
start drawing parental benefit 60 days before the expected
delivery date. Both parents can draw parental benefit for
parental training. Parental benefit may be drawn until the
child attains the age of eight or when the child comes to the
end of his or her first school year. You can choose to draw
a full, three-quarter, half, a quarter or an eighth parental
benefit.

Temporary parental benefit

If you have to stay at home from work in order to look after
a sick child under the age of twelve, you may be entitled to
temporary parental benefit. This also applies if the person
who normally looks after the child falls ill. Parents together
are eligible for temporary parental benefit for sixty days
per child and year. After these 60 days have been used up,
a further sixty days can be taken out. It should be noted,

17
however, that these extra days cannot be taken out in the
event of illness or infection of the normal carer. You can also
draw temporary parental benefit for visits to a doctor or to
a child health clinic [barnavårdscentral] with the child.

Special need of care and supervision

Parents can also draw temporary parental benefit for
children who are 12 and below the age of 16. This may be
the case if the child, when ill, is in special need of care and
supervision. A certificate from a doctor is required that the
child is in special need of care and supervision. Special rules
apply in the case of children covered by the Act concerning
Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional
Impairments [LSS].

Payment
Benefit is payable for full, three-quarter, half, a quarter or an
eighth day, depending on the extent to which you need time
off work. Please note that it is not possible to receive tempo-
rary parental benefit for work-free days.

Paternity leave
If you have recently become a father or are the child’s other
parent, you are entitled to ten days’ leave with temporary
parental benefit in connection with the birth of the child.
You can draw these days within 60 days of the child coming
home from the hospital.

If you are adoptive parents, you and the other parent are
entitled to five days each unless you have agreed on another
distribution. You can take these days within 60 days of re-
ceiving the child.

Child allowance and large family

supplement [flerbarnstillägg]
If you have a child under the age of 16, you will receive
child allowance if the child lives in Sweden. When your child
reaches the age of 16, the child allowance ceases and is

18
replaced by extended child allowance if the child still attends
compulsory school. Extended child allowance is paid up to
and including the month that the child finishes compulsory
school. If you have two or more children, you may be able
to receive large family supplement. Children who continue
their studies without interruption after the age of 16 also
entitle the family to large family supplement.

Childcare allowance
If you are a parent and are looking after a sick or disabled
child, you may be able to receive childcare allowance. This
is conditional on the child needing special supervision and
care for at least six months or that you have special addi-
tional costs due to the child’s disability.

How it works
Childcare allowance is payable as soon as the child is born.
It is paid up to and including the month of June of the year
when the child reaches the age of 19, when the child be-
comes eligible for disability allowance [handikappersättning]. If
your child is being cared for at a hospital or another institu-
tion, you may continue receiving child allowance for at most
six months. Please note that you can also keep childcare
allowance for an additional six months if the child is seri-
ously ill.

Maintenance
If you are parents who are not living together, the parent
who is not living with the child must contribute to the care
of the child by paying maintenance. You can agree on the
maintenance between yourselves. If you are unable to reach
agreement, the matter can be settled in court.

Maintenance support
If the parent liable for maintenance fails to pay it or pays
an insufficient amount, the person living with the child may
apply for maintenance support from Försäkringskassan. To

19
be eligible for maintenance support, you must have custody
and the child must be registered in the Population Register
at your address.

When Försäkringskassan pays out full maintenance sup-

port, the parent who does not live with the child must fully
or partly reimburse the costs of maintenance support taken
from public funds. The amount to be paid depends, among
other things, on this person’s income. Maintenance support
can also be paid out as supplementary allowance [utfyllnads-
bidrag] if you pay child support directly to the other parent.

Maintenance support can also be paid to a child who is resi-

dent and registered in the Population Register with one or
two specially designated persons with custody and to a child
who is adopted by only one person.

How long?
Maintenance support can be paid at the longest until the
child reaches the age of 18. Extended maintenance support
may be payable up to and including June of the year that the
child reaches the age of 20 (provided that the child is still
studying at compulsory school or upper secondary school
level). The child must be resident and registered in the Popu-
lation Register at the address of one of his or her parents
or someone who had parental responsibility for the child
before he or she reached the age of 18.

Changes must be notified to Försäkringskassan

It is important that you notify any changes that may affect
entitlement to maintenance support. This includes the situa-
tion, for example, where the child goes to live with the other
parent.

22
If you have a disability 6

Disability allowance
You may be able to obtain disability allowance from July
of the year you reach the age of 19, provided you become
disabled before the age of 65. To qualify for the allowance,
you must need assistance from another person that is time-
consuming in order to manage your everyday life, your work
or your studies, or else you must have considerable extra
costs as a result of your disability. You must also be in need
of support for at least one year. In some cases, you may con-
tinue to receive this allowance after reaching the age of 65.

Attendance allowance
You are entitled to attendance allowance if you are severely
disabled and require personal assistance to help you man-
age your everyday life. Personal assistance is defined as a
programme of personally designed support to be given in
various situations by a limited number of people. Although
entitlement to this allowance is not subject to a lower age
limit, you must not be over 65 when the allowance is grant-
ed. You must need personal assistance with basic needs (e.g.
with personal hygiene, dressing and undressing, eating,
communicating with others) for an average of more than 20
hours per week.

23
Car allowance
You may be able to get a car allowance if you have consider-
able difficulty in getting around on your own or using public
transport. Parents with a disabled child may also be entitled
to car allowance in some cases if they need the car to be able
to travel with the child. Car allowance may also involve a
grant for another means of transportation, such as a moped
or a motorcycle.

24
If you are injured 7
at work

Occupational injury insurance

If you are injured at work or on your way to or from work,
you may be eligible for compensation from occupational
injury insurance. This insurance also covers occupational
diseases such as skin conditions brought on by contact with
certain substances or back trouble caused by unsuitable
work postures. Certain infectious diseases such as nosoco-
mial (hospital) disease and jaundice may also be regarded as
work injuries. If you are injured at work, you should notify
your employer without delay. The employer must then report
the injury to Försäkringskassan.

Annuity
If you are injured and can no longer work or are earning less
than previously because of your injury, you may be eligible
for an annuity. The annuity compensates you for the income
you have lost as a result of the injury. If you are also granted
sickness or activity compensation, these benefits will be
coordinated with the annuity.

25
Death
If a person dies as a result of a work injury, his or her
surviving spouse and children under the age of 18 will be
entitled to an annuity. The size of the annuity depends on
the earned income of the deceased. The annuity will be coor-
dinated with survivor’s pension and survivor’s support for
children. The survivors are also entitled to help in meeting
the funeral expenses.

26
If you are taking
part in a labour
market programme

Activity grants
If you are taking part in a labour market programme, such
as employment training, occupational rehabilitation, prac-
tical job experience, work at a datortek [computer centre],
business start-up or youth guarantee, you may also be able
to receive an activity grant.

How it works
The activity grant is normally equal to the daily benefit
you would otherwise have received from your unemploy-
ment insurance fund. It is payable for five days a week. The
Employment Service will help you to find the labour market
programme, which entitles you to the activity grant. The
amount payable is calculated and paid out by Försäkrings-
kassan. The activity grant is a taxable benefit.

27
Help with the cost
of housing

Housing allowance
Families with children and also young people without chil-
dren aged between 18 and 29 may be able to get housing
allowance. In order to be able to apply for housing allow-
ance, you must be living and registered in the Population
Register in Sweden. As a rule, you must be registered as
living in the accommodation for which you are applying for
the allowance.

Families with children may receive a contribution towards

housing costs, a separate grant for the children living at
home and an access allowance [umgängesbidrag] for children
who sometimes live at home. Young people without children
can receive grants for housing costs.

How it works
The amount payable will depend, among other things, on
the size of your household, your income, your housing costs
and the size of your accommodation. Housing allowance is a
preliminary payment and is based on the income you expect
to receive in the whole calendar year. The final allowance is
not established until your actual income for that year has
been assessed for tax purposes. The provisional and final
allowances are then compared. If your provisional allowance
was too low, you will receive a supplementary payment with
interest. Similarly, if your provisional allowance was too
high, you will have to repay the amount to which you were
not entitled plus a charge.

28
If you are an employer

Insurance against sick pay costs

If your total wage costs for a calendar year are not expected
to exceed 130 price base amounts, you as an employer may
insure yourself against sick pay costs. The calculation dis-
regards the charges you pay in accordance with the Social
Insurance Act, the Payroll Charges Act and tax costs accord-
ing to the Special Wages Tax (Certain Acquired Instruments)
Act.

The insurance compensates the policy holder’s sick pay

costs according to the Sick Pay Act from the fourth day of
the sick pay period. Compensation is also paid for costs
incurred for contributions for the Social Security Contribu-
tions Act and the Wage Tax Act and also the Special Wages
Tax (Certain Acquired Instruments) Act.

Note that the insurance does not apply to employees covered

by the special high-risk cost protection.

The charge for the insurance is calculated from the com-

pany’s wage cost and applicable percentage as determined
annually by Försäkringskassan.

Inform employees who have been given notice

If you give notice to employees or if employees receive sev-
erance pay, it is important for you to inform them that they
must register with the Employment Service as looking for
work. This is very important for any future social insurance
benefits.

29
General rules

Dissatisfied with the decision?

If you are dissatisfied with Försäkringskassan’s decision,
you can ask for it to be reconsidered or appeal against the
decision to the county administrative court [länsrätten]. If
you consider the county administrative court’s decision to
be incorrect, you can appeal against it to the administrative
court of appeal [kammar­rätten]. If you also consider the deci-
sion of the appeal court to be wrong, you may appeal to the
Supreme Administrative Court [Regerings­rätten]. The Supreme
Administrative Court only considers cases involving impor-
tant matters of principle.

Taxation and income tax return

Most benefits from Försäkringskassan are taxable and many
are also pensionable. In January each year, you will receive a
statement of earnings and tax deductions from Försäkrings-
kassan for your income tax return. This statement specifies
how much you have received from Försäkrings­kassan in the
past year and how much tax has been deducted.

Price base amount

The price base amount is an amount established by the
Government for one year at a time on the basis of figures
provided by Statistics Sweden [Statistiska central­byrån]. It is
adjusted annually. When Försäkringskassan calculates, for
example, the amount of your pensions, sickness benefit and
allowances, it makes use of the price base amount.

30
Social insurance 8
in practice

From proposal to a new law

or amendment to a law
Several times a year, the Government proposes new laws
and amendments to laws in the area of social insurance.
These proposals are then voted on by the Swedish parlia-
ment, the Riksdag.

Who manages social insurance?

Försäkringskassan manages social insurance. Social insur-
ance is uniform throughout the country and funded by the
State. The State therefore controls activities through, among
other ways, the appointment of boards.

Obligations
Notify changes to Försäkringskassan
You must always notify changed circumstances that may be
important for entitlement to benefits.

What happens if you receive too much benefit?

If you receive benefit to which you are not entitled, you will
normally be obliged to reimburse it. This is the case even if
it was not your fault that you received the benefit.

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Försäkringskassan reports suspected fraud
to the police
Deliberately providing incorrect information or failing to
notify changes that may affect entitlement to benefit may be
a criminal offence. Försäkringskassan reports all suspected
benefit fraud to the police.

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Obligations
What happens if you receive too much benefit?
If you receive a benefit to which you are not entitled, you will
in general be obliged to repay the money. This is the case even
if it was not your fault that you received the payment.

It is a criminal offence to give false information

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency takes a serious view
of fraud. By fraud we mean when someone deliberately tries
to get round the rules for obtaining benefit. What happens
then if someone commits fraud, for example by leaving false
information or by not reporting a change in his or her cir-
cumstances? Anyone who commits fraud is liable to repay the
money received, and also runs the risk of punishment by fine
or imprisonment.

Always notify the Swedish Social Insurance

Agency of any changes
You are obliged to notify changed circumstances that may have
a bearing on your right to benefit.
More information
This brochure provides general information and should not be
regarded as a legal text. More information is available on our website
www.forsakringskassan.se.
You can obtain more information from our customer centre at
FK 4002 2010-08-10

0771-524 524.