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About parental benefits upon adoption

Parental benefit is money you receive to be able to be at home with your child instead of working, seeking work or studying. The information is intended for individuals who are or will become an adoptive parent.

Am I eligible for parental benefit?

You are eligible for parental benefit

  • if you are at home with your child instead of working, studying or seeking employment
  • if you are the parent of the child or have custody of the child
  • if you are a prospective adoptive parent
  • if you are married or cohabiting with the child's parent
  • if you are insured in Sweden.

How many days with parental benefit do I get?

Parental benefit is paid out for 480 days (approximately 16 months) for one child. For 390 days, the compensation is based on your income (these are referred to as sickness benefit level days). The remaining 90 days, the compensation is set to SEK 180 per day (these are referred to as minimum level days).

 
The first 180 days that are taken out for the child must be days at the sickness benefit level. If you are two parents, it is your joint withdrawal of days for the child at the sickness benefit level that are counted. Once you have taken out 180 days at the sickness benefit level, you can begin taking out days at the minimum level as well. 
  Parent 1 Parent 2
Days at sickness benefit level that can be transferred 105 105
Days at sickness benefit level
that cannot be transferred		 90 90
Days at the minimum level (SEK 180 per day) that can be transferred 45 45
Total 240 240
You can take out parental benefit up to and including the day the child turns 12 years old or when the child finishes form/grade 5 in compulsory school. However, after the child has been in your care for 4 years, you can only save 96 parental benefit days in total. If there are more than 96 days left for the child, the days disappear. Read more under Frequently asked questions – How long can I save my parental benefit days?
 

 
If you have sole custody of the child, you are entitled to all 480 days. The first 180 days that are taken out for the child must be days at the sickness benefit level.
 

 

If you adopt two or more children at the same time, you get an additional 90 sickness benefit level days and 90 minimum level days per child.

Number of days with parental benefit you receive if you have multiple children:

Number of children 1 2 3 4
Days at sickness benefit level 390 480 660 840
Days at minimum level 90 180 180 180
Total 480 660 840 1,020
If you are two parents, you can also take out parental benefit for each child and thereby be home at the same time.
 

How much money will I get?

With the “Kassakollen” function, you can quickly and easily see approximately how much you can receive in parental benefit.

Kassakollen

 

You get nearly 80 per cent of your income if you take out parental benefit 7 days a week, but this is capped at SEK 952 per day.  

If you have worked at least 240 consecutive days before taking the child into your care

Parental benefit that is based on your income is called parental benefit at sickness benefit level. To receive parental benefit at the sickness benefit level, you must have had an annual income
of at least SEK 82,100 for at least 240 consecutive days before taking the child into your care. You do not need to have worked at the same workplace or had the same income the entire time, but rather it is the number of days with income that is important. Call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 if you are uncertain whether you meet the requirements.

If you have not worked at least 240 consecutive days before taking the child into your care

If you worked fewer than 240 consecutive days before taking the child into your care, you receive SEK 250 per day during the first 180 days that are taken out for the child. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.

After you, the other parent, or the two of you together have taken 180 parental benefit days, you will receive parental benefit based on your income, but no less than SEK 250 per day.

 

 
If you have no income or earned less than SEK 117,590 for one year, you will receive SEK 250 per day. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.
 

 

If you had a job before becoming a job seeker, you can receive parental benefit based on the income you had then, i.e. the sickness benefit qualifying income level. This applies on condition that you registered with the Public Employment Service on the first weekday that you were unemployed and are still registered.

If you worked 6 months or more before you became unemployed, it suffices if you registered with the Public Employment Service within three months after you became unemployed.

If you cannot receive parental benefit at the sickness benefit qualifying income level, you will receive SEK 250 per day. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.

 

 

If you have a limited company, you are counted as an employee of your own company. This means that your parental benefit will be based on the salary you have taken out from the company. With the "Kassakollen" function, you can easily see how much money you get. But, you can receive no more than SEK 952 per day.

Kassakollen

If you do not take a salary at all, you will receive SEK 250 per day. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.

If you have a sole proprietorship, you can receive parental benefit based on your estimated income from business activities. If your company is in the start-up phase, then you might not have earned much estimated income as yet. For this reason, for the first 24 months you receive an amount equal to the sickness benefit an employee with the same work tasks, training and experience would receive. In the salary database at www.scb.se, you can see how much an employee in your profession has for income.

Salary database at Statistics Sweden (scb.se) opens in a new window

If you do not have any estimated income at all and are not in the start-up phase, you will receive SEK 250 per day. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.

 

 

If you do not have an income from work, you get SEK 250 per day. This is the equivalent of about SEK 7,500 a month.

If you worked before you began studying, you can receive parental benefit that is based on your latest salary. Call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 to find out what applies to you.

 

When can I take out my parental benefit?

If you adopt a child, you can begin taking parental benefit starting from the day you take the child into your care.

 

How long can I take out parental benefit?

You can take out parental benefit for 8 years starting from the date you take the child into your care. However, you cannot take out parental benefit after the child’s 10th birthday.

Can I take out parental benefit only for days I would not have worked?

Yes, if you take out parental benefit days at the minimum level. But, you can only take out parental benefit at the sickness benefit level if you also take out parental benefit for the days directly before or directly after the days you would not normally have worked, like the weekend.
 

 

How long can I take out parental benefit?

You can take out parental benefit up until the child's 12th birthday or when the child completes grade 5 of compulsory school. However, after the child has been in your care for 4 years, you can only save 96 parental benefit days for the child. If you have twins, you can save 132 days in total.

Can I take out parental benefit only for days I would not have worked?

Yes, if you take out parental benefit days at the minimum level. But, you can only take out parental benefit at the sickness benefit level if you also take out parental benefit for the days directly before or directly after the days you would not normally have worked, like the weekend.

 

How do I apply for parental benefit?

You apply in three steps. You must first send in a copy of the approval decision. You then report that you will be away from work and apply for the benefit.

1. Send in a copy of the approval decision

Before you leave to pick up the child, you must send in a copy of the approval decision from the Social Welfare Board. You must send in the decision with the parent's or parents’ name, personal identity number, and date that the Social Welfare Board granted approval.

Send it to Försäkringskassans inläsningscentral 839 88 Östersund.

2. Register parental benefit

You can register whenever you want, but not later than the same day for which you want compensation. To register here on the website, the child must have a personal identity number.

Register parental benefit (in Swedish)

 
Unfortunately, it is not possible to use our e-services to register and apply for parental benefit if the child has not yet received a personal identity number. This also applies if you have not been officially recognised as the child's legal guardian yet. You must instead call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 to obtain a form. As soon as the child has received a personal identity number and you are recognised as a legal guardian, you can use the e-services as usual.
 

3. Apply for parental benefit

Log in to My pages (Mina sidor) and apply for parental benefit. Remember to apply no later than 90 days after you have taken your first parental benefit day.

Feel free to apply for as long a period as possible so the disbursements are made smoothly. You can easily change your application afterwards if you want to take more or less leave than you originally applied for.

4. Disbursement

If your application is complete, the money is disbursed within 30 days. Otherwise, we will contact you within one week. The money will arrive on the 25th of every month.

As soon as we have processed your application, you can see your preliminary disbursements under Disbursements (Utbetalningar) on My pages (Mina sidor).  The actual disbursement will be shown 1 bank day before the money arrives.

 
  • If the disbursement date is a Saturday, your money will be paid out on Friday.  
  • If the disbursement date is a Sunday, your money will be paid out on Monday.
  • Disbursement normally scheduled for 25 December will be paid out on 21 December 2018.
 

5. If you want to change your application

You can change an application submitted on My pages (Mina sidor) as long as the money has not been paid out. If you make your change no later than the 15th of the month, you will receive the right amount at the next disbursement.

What should I think about when it comes to sickness benefit qualifying income?

Many parents of young children choose to reduce their working hours during and after parental leave. This can lead to lower income, which could affect your sickness benefit qualifying income.

Your qualifying income is based on your annual income. Försäkringskassan uses this amount to calculate how much compensation you can receive if you get sick, stay home to care for a sick child, or are taking parental leave. You can protect your qualifying income in different ways depending on the age of your child and your work situation.

When the child has been in your care for 1 year

 
If you are on parental leave full-time or part-time, you do not have to do anything to protect your qualifying income. You keep the same qualifying income you had when the child came into your care, even if you are not collecting parental benefit.
 

 

Your qualifying income will be recalculated based on the salary you receive when working full-time. So, if you have the same salary as before, you will have the same qualifying income as before the child came into your care.

But, if you have a lower salary than when you were on parental leave (for example, if you work days instead of nights and no longer receive a supplement for inconvenient working hours), your qualifying income will be lower. You will then receive less compensation if you get sick or stay home to care for a sick child.

 

When the child has been in your care for 1 years

 
If you are on parental leave full-time (or refrain from seeking work if you are a job seeker), you keep your previous qualifying income if you take at least five whole parental benefit days per week.
 

 

Your qualifying income will be recalculated based on the salary you receive when working. So, if you have the same salary as before, you will have the same qualifying income as before the child came into your care.

But, if you have a lower salary than when you were on parental leave (for example, if you work days instead of nights and no longer receive a supplement for inconvenient working hours), your qualifying income will be lower. You will then receive less compensation if you get sick or stay home to care for a sick child.

Your parental benefit is not affected if your qualifying income is lowered
Your parental benefit is not affected if your qualifying income is lowered. You are protected during the first two years from the date the child came into your care. This means that even if your qualifying income is lower (for example if you reduce your working hours), you will receive the same amount of parental benefit as before if you take parental leave again before the child has been in your care for two years.

The same applies if you adopt another child before the sibling has been in your care for two years and six months, or if you or your partner get pregnant before you have had the sibling in your care for one year and nine months. You will also receive parental benefit calculated using the same qualifying income as before it was lowered.

How to protect your qualifying income if you have reduced your working hours
If you do not want your compensation for sickness benefit and benefit for caring for a sick child to be lower because you have reduced your working hours, you can protect your previous qualifying income by taking parental benefit for a time equal to your reduction in working hours.

Examples of how to protect your qualifying income:

  • If you reduce your working hours by half from full-time to part-time, you must take at least two and a half days of parental benefit per week.
  • If you reduce your working hours by half from 50 per cent to 25 per cent, you must take at least two and a half days of parental benefit per week.
  • If you reduce your working hours by one-fourth from full-time to 75 per cent, you must take at least one and one-fourth days of parental benefit per week.
 

SGI guide

By answering a few quick questions, you will get answers to the following:

  • How you become entitled to an SGI.
  • How it is calculated from your income.
  • How your SGI affects the compensation you receive.
  • That it is important to protect your SGI if you stop working or begin working less.

Starta SGI-guiden

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Frequently asked questions

With two parents, you receive 195 days each at the sickness benefit level and 45 days each at the minimum level. You can divide the days between you by transferring days to each other. But, 90 days at the sickness benefit level are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred.

Anyone who has transferred parental benefit days can also take back days for which compensation has not been paid. Log in to My pages (Mina sidor) to transfer and take back days.

If you are unable to use My pages (Mina sidor), you can instead send in this form:

7470 Registration to transfer parental benefit days (77 kB)PDF opens in a new window

7471 Registration to take back parental benefit days (66 kB)PDF opens in a new window

Yes. A parent can choose to transfer their days to the other parent, i.e. give their days to the other parent. One can only transfer days that are not among the 60 reserved days at sickness benefit level.

Anyone who has transferred parental benefit days can also take back days for which compensation has not been paid. Log in to My pages (Mina sidor) to transfer and take back days.

Yes. During the child's first year in your care, both parents can take parental benefit for the same day. This is called double days. You can take out 30 double days at most. You cannot take out double days from the 90 days that are reserved.

When you take out a double day, two days are deducted, one for each parent. So if you take out all 30 double days, you have used 60 days with parental benefits and after that you have 420 days left.

It is possible to take out double days at different levels. This means that one parent can take out days at the sickness benefit level while the other takes out days at the minimum level. Bear in mind that you must have taken out 180 days at sickness benefit level for this child before you can start taking out days at the minimum level.

60

Yes, parental benefit can be paid out as full compensation (100 per cent), three-quarter compensation (75 per cent), one-half compensation (50 per cent), one-quarter compensation (25 per cent) or one-eighth compensation (12.5 per cent). But you cannot choose to take out parental benefits in any extent other than these.

This means, for example, that you can work 50 per cent and take out parental benefit for 50 per cent. However, you cannot work 80 per cent and take out parental benefits for 20 per cent.

Yes, at the minimum level.

You can take out parental benefit at the minimum level even if you would not have worked that day, such as weekends or if you are usually off of work another day of the week. But you cannot take out parental benefit at the same time that you are on holiday.

Yes, in some cases at sickness benefit level.

If you have a work-free period of at least five days, you can take out parental benefit for these days. If the work-free period is 1-4 days, you can only take out parental benefit at the sickness benefit level if you also take out parental benefit to the same extent the day right before or right after the work-free days.

Yes, you apply as usual. In the application, you can state the reason why you forgot to register.

Sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI) is an amount that Försäkringskassan calculates based on your income. Your SGI is used to determine how much you can receive in parental benefit when you are on parental leave.

By answering a few quick questions in the SGI guide, you will get answers to the following:

  • How you become entitled to an SGI.
  • How it is calculated from your income.
  • How your SGI affects the compensation you receive.
  • What applies if you have your own company.
  • That it is important to protect your SGI if you stop working or begin working less.

Starta SGI-guiden

Log in to My pages (Mina sidor) to plan your parental benefit usage, see how many days you have remaining, and see when you must use them so they are not lost due to the child’s age.

If your child was adopted before 1 January 2014

You can take out parental benefit for 8 years starting from the date you take the child into your care. However, you cannot take out parental benefit after the child’s 10th birthday.

If your child was adopted on 1 January 2014 or later

You can take out parental benefit up until the child's 12th birthday or when the child completes form/grade 5 of compulsory school. However, after the child has been in your care for 4 years, you can only save 96 parental benefit days for the child.

Example: If there are 110 days left for the child, of which 100 are sickness benefit level days and 10 are minimum level days, all of the minimum level days disappear – but only 4 of the sickness benefit level days.

If you have joint custody

For parents who have joint custody, there are also rules for how the days are divided between the parents. This is how it works if you have parental benefit days left when your child turns 4 years old:

If you have fewer than 96 days left between you, nothing happens. You keep your respective days.

If there are more than 96 days left for the child and all the days belong to the same parent, they keep 96 days.

If you together have more than 96 days, the number of days is reduced for you both so that you together have 96 days left. The reduction is made so that you have the same share of days left that you had before the reduction. If one of you has one-third of their days left before the reduction, they will also have one-third left after the reduction.

If you are a single parent and cannot care for your child due to sickness, a friend or family member can take care of the child. They will then receive money from Försäkringskassan to compensate for their lost income. This is called expanded temporary parental benefit.

  • To be eligible for expanded temporary parental benefit, the child must be younger than age 3.
  • You must either have sole custody or, in cases of joint custody, the other parent must be unable to take care of the child because they do not live in Sweden or are too sick to be able to take care of the child.
  • You do not live with another parent to whom you can transfer parental benefit days, and the person who takes care of the child must be insured in Sweden and refrain from work.

The person who takes care of the child will receive the same amount that they would have received as compensation for care of a sick child. They will receive slightly less than 80 per cent of their regular income up to a cap of SEK 946 per day if they work full time 5 days a week.

Yes. If the child is older than 240 days (8 months), the other parent can apply for compensation for the care of a sick child. If the other parent cannot care for the child due to work, a relative, neighbour or friend, for example, can receive compensation for the care of the child instead.

If the child is younger than 240 days, the other parent can take out parental benefit instead of you.

Remember to submit a sickness report on the first sick day if you get sick and cannot take care of your child during your parental leave.

If you have an open parental benefit case, you can register your changed income on My pages (Mina sidor). If you do not have a case right now, you do not need to register at all.

Our calculation period for parental benefit runs from the 21st in one month to the 20th of the next month. Your payments can differ between months because there are a different number of days in the month.

Yes. When you begin working after a period of parental leave and then decide to go back on parental leave and take out parental benefit, you have to submit a new registration.

Yes, you can. But, the rules vary slightly depending on whether you want to use days at the minimum level or at the sickness benefit level.

You can always take out parental benefit days at the minimum level

If you accompany your child at the preschool or are available while the child is undergoing orientation, more than one-eighth (12.5%) of the day, you can take out a full day of parental benefit at the minimum level.

In some cases, you can take out parental benefit at the sickness benefit level

The general rule is that you can only receive parental benefit for the time you are in direct contact with the child, i.e. the time the child is in your presence. So, if you leave the preschool during the preschool orientation, you cannot receive parental benefit for that time.

Example:
If you leave the child at the preschool for orientation for 4 hours and are together with the child the rest of the day, you can only take out a half day of parental benefit at the sickness benefit level. This applies even if you need to be available for the preschool (the example presumes that you work 8 hours).

If you are with the child more than 75% of a day

If you are with the child more than 75 % of a workday, you can take out 100% parental benefit for that day, regardless of whether your child is undergoing preschool orientation or not.

We often receive feedback from parents that preschool orientation is tricky since you must sometimes be available for the preschool and thus cannot work, yet you are not in direct contact and cannot receive parental benefit. We agree that it can be tricky and have therefore presented your feedback to legislators in our anti-red tape catalogue.

Yes, you can get parental benefit if you live together with one of the child's parents and any of the following applies to you:

  • You have or have had other children together
  • You are or have been married
  • You are or have been registered partners.


Proceed as follows:

  1. Call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 and register.
  2. Ask the other parent to transfer days to you. They can do so on My pages (Mina sidor).
  3. Apply for parental benefit on My pages (Mina sidor).

No, if you or your child has a protected identity, you cannot plan or apply via My pages (Mina sidor) since this requires login with a personal identity number. To apply, call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 to receive forms, more information, and assistance with your case.

If you notify your employer at least two months before you will be on parental leave, the employer must approve your parental leave. At some workplaces, there are collective agreements that mean that you must provide notification earlier or later. Ask your employer if you want to find out what applies for you.

Yes, you can. But you can only receive parental benefit for no more than 90 days back in time.

If you have been on leave for one month or longer, your employer has the right to have you wait a maximum of one month before you begin working again. This also applies if you have been on leave for less than one month, but planned to be on leave for at least one month.

If you want to stop parental benefit disbursements from Försäkringskassan, you must send in a new application where you only request compensation up to and including the date you want to have parental benefits for. It is always the most recently received application that applies. You can also call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524. It is only possible to stop the disbursements for days for which no parental benefit has been paid out yet.

The answer is simply because it says so in the law. It may seem complicated and even frustrating, but it is a legal requirement that you must first register that you want parental benefit before you can apply to receive money. We cannot change the law, but we have sent an anti-red tape proposal to the Government to remove the registration requirement.

When you work, the employer deposits money into your collective agreement occupational pension, but not when you receive parental benefit. AFA Försäkring can take over the employer's payments to your collective agreement occupational pension (applies to privately and cooperatively employed workers).

AFA Försäkring (afaforsakring.se) opens in a new window

Yes. You may be entitled to parental benefit while you are studying if you take care of the child for part of the day.

Example – entitled to parental benefit
You are studying via a distance learning programme, take care of your child during the day, and study on nights and weekends. You are eligible for parental benefit.

Example – not entitled to parental benefit
You are studying and in school every day between 8:00 and 16:00. Since you are not together with the child during the day, you cannot receive parental benefit.

You are insured in Sweden if you live or work here.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule. You can work in another country and still be insured in Sweden. There are also situations in which you can work in Sweden but be insured in another country. Call the Customer Centre at 0771-524 524 to learn what applies if you:

  • work as a sailor
  • are assigned to work in another country by a Swedish employer or are assigned to work in Sweden by a foreign employer
  • are a diplomat
  • work in two or more countries
  • are a civil servant of an administration that belongs to Sweden but work in another country

Yes, your employer can prevent you from taking parental leave, except in the following cases:

  • If you are the one giving birth, you have the right to be on leave full-time from your work in connection with the child’s birth. You have a right to this for a consecutive period of at least seven weeks before the estimated due date and seven weeks after the birth.
  • Up until the child is 18 months old, you are entitled to be on full-time leave from your job.
  • Up until the child is eight years old or completes form/grade one, you have the right to be on parental leave. You also have the right to shorten your working hours by up to one-fourth.

You also have the right to divide up your leave into a maximum of three periods each calendar year. If you and your employer agree, you can divide up the leave in to more periods.




Related links

If you’ve had a child

How does parental leave affect my pension?

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