Am I eligible for assistance allowance?

You are eligible for assistance allowance if you

• are covered by the Act regarding Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS)
• have a major and permanent disability
• are not yet 66 years old when you apply
• are insured in Sweden.

In order for you to receive assistance allowance, you must also need personalized support for more than 20 hours per week for assistance with any of the following:

• breathing
• personal hygiene
• eating meals
• getting dressed and undressed
• communication with others
• support to prevent injury as a consequence of mental disability
• continuous support due to a medical condition.

It is when you need assistance with these needs for more than 20 hours per week that you can receive assistance allowance from Försäkringskassan. If you receive assistance allowance for these needs you may also receive allowance for other personal needs.

If you need assistance with needs for less than 20 hours a week, you can instead apply to receive personal assistance through your municipality. The municipality can also help with, for example, attendant service and relief service.

How do I apply?

Here we describe how it works to apply for assistance allowance from Försäkringskassan.

1. Ask for a doctor's statement

Contact a doctor to get a statement describing your disability and how it affects you.

2. Apply on My pages (Mina sidor)

Log in to My pages (Mina sidor) to apply. Since we always contact you after receiving your application, it is alright if your application is brief or if something is missing.

3. Send in the doctor's statement

Send in your medical statement to Försäkringskassans inläsningscentral 839 88 Östersund.

4. We will contact you and schedule a meeting

We will confirm your application within a week. If we need to talk to you we will schedule a meeting. At the meeting we will discuss what type of assistance you need and how much. The meeting can either be over the telephone, in your home or at Försäkringskassan's office. You can bring other people to the meeting for support, such as a family member.

5. You receive a decision

It normally takes 4 months before you receive a decision on assistance allowance. However, it may take longer if the necessary documents are missing.

6. Choose how your assistance will be arranged

If you have not already done so, choose how the assistance will be arranged. You can purchase personal assistance services from an assistance provider, employ your assistants yourself, or combine these alternatives. You must also decide whether you want the money to be paid to you or directly to a provider. Inform us of your choice by using My pages (Mina sidor).

7. Send in the invoice and time report

8. Disbursement

The allowance can be paid out two ways, either in advance or retrospectively. Retroactive payments are the most common, it is only if you hire all of your assistants yourself that you can receive the compensation in advance.

Retroactive assistance allowance is paid out around the 5th or the 20th of each month. The allowance is paid once all of the documents have been received and processed.

Assistance allowance in advance is paid once a month. Around the 20th of each month, you will receive a preliminary disbursement for the number of hours of assistance compensation you are approved for.

Whether you or someone else is the payment recipient, you will receive a copy of the payment statement every time we pay the compensation. The copy is only for informational purposes and you do not need to do anything.

When will the disbursement appear on My pages (Mina sidor)?

Under Disbursements (Utbetalningar) On My pages (Mina sidor), you can see your disbursement 6 bank days before the money arrives.

Special disbursement dates

Special disbursement dates and processing times

9. Always report changes

Call your case administrator if you:

• move to another residence
• need more or less assistance
• receive some other form of support, e.g. from the municipality or the county
• move to an assisted living facility
• are being cared for at a hospital
• are receiving assistive devices.
• travel abroad and this affects how your assistants work.

Please also let us know if a licensed healthcare professional determines that you need some form of medical intervention. Some changes may affect the right to assistance allowance and if you have received money that you have not been entitled to, you may have to pay it back. Report the change to Försäkringskassan as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after you learned about the change.

Assistive devices are provided by the municipality or region (county council). You can read more about assistive devices at

1177 vårdguiden (1177.se) External link, opens in new window.