Parental benefit is money you receive to be able to be at home with your child instead of working, seeking work or studying.
Am I eligible for parental benefit?
You are eligible for parental benefit
- if you are the child's parent or have custody of the child
- if you are married or cohabiting with the child's parent
- if you are at home with your child instead of working, studying or seeking employment
- if you are insured in Sweden. You usually are if you live or work here
- if the child lives in Sweden or within the EU/EEA or Switzerland.
How many days with parental benefit do I get?
Parental benefit is paid out for 480 days for one child. For 390 days, the compensation is based on the income one has (days at the sickness benefit level). For the other 90 days, the compensation is SEK 180 per day (days at the minimum level)
The first 180 days that are taken out for the child must be days at the sickness benefit level. Once you have taken out 180 days at the sickness benefit level, you can begin taking out days at the minimum level as well. It is your joint withdrawal of days for the child at the sickness benefit level that are counted.
If the child was born before 1 January 2014
You receive half of the 480 days each, but 60 days at the sickness benefit level are reserved for each parent. The rest of the days can be transferred to each other.
If the child was born in 2014 or 2015
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 60 days at the sickness benefit level are reserved and cannot be transferred to the other parent.
If the child was born in 2016 or later
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 and cannot be transferred to the other parent.
|
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 |
Minimise
Parental benefit is paid out for 480 days for one child. For 390 days, the compensation is based on the income one has (days at the sickness benefit level). For the other 90 days, the compensation is SEK 180 per day (days at the minimum level).
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.
Minimise
If you have multiple children, you and the other parent receive the following number of parental benefit days:
Number of children |
Days at sickness benefit level |
Days at minimum level |
Total |
1 |
390 |
90 |
480 |
2 |
480 |
180 |
660 |
3 |
660 |
180 |
840 |
4 |
840 |
180 |
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. If you have sole custody of the child, you are entitled to all of the days.
Minimise
When can I take out my parental benefit?
How long can I take out parental benefit?
You can take out parental benefit up to and including the day the child has finished their first year in compulsory school. If your child turns 8 years old after the end of school, you can take out parental benefit up to and including the day the child turns 8.
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.
Minimise
How long can I take out parental benefit?
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. But, from the child’s 4th birthday, you can only save 96 days in total. 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.
Minimise
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 1 006 per day.
If you have worked for at least 240 consecutive days before the estimated delivery date
Parental benefit that is based on your income is called parental benefit at sickness benefit level. To receive parental benefit at sickness benefit level, you must have had an annual income of at least SEK 82,100 for at least 240 consecutive days before the estimated delivery date. 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.
If you have not worked for at least 240 consecutive days before the estimated delivery
If you have worked fewer than 240 consecutive days before the child is born, you receive SEK 250 per day at sickness benefit level for the first 180 days that are taken out for the child. This is equivalent to about SEK 7,500 a month.
After you, the other parent or you both together have taken out 180 parental benefit days, you receive parental benefit based on your income, but a minimum of SEK 250 per day at sickness benefit level.
Minimise
If you have no income or earned less than SEK 117,590 in a year, you receive SEK 250 per day at sickness benefit level. This is equivalent to about SEK 7,500 a month.
Minimise
If you had a job before you became a job seeker, you can receive parental benefit based on the income you had then, in other words at sickness benefit 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 based on your income, you get parental benefit at SEK 250 per day for the days at the sickness benefit level.
Minimise
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 967 per day at the sickness benefit level.
Kassakollen
If you do not take any out any salary at all or less than SEK 117,590 per year, you get SEK 250 per day at the sickness benefit level.
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 parental benefit an employee with the same duties, training and experience would receive.
In the salary database at scb.se, you can see how much an employee in your profession has in income.
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 get SEK 250 per day at sickness benefit level.
Minimise
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.
Minimise
How do I apply for parental benefit?
You must first register that you will be on leave and then apply for the benefit.
1. Register parental benefit
You can register whenever you want, but not later than the same day for which you want compensation.
Register parental benefit (in Swedish)
Send in your pregnancy certificate. It serves as your registration and you can plan and apply for parental benefit in the next step. Send the certificate to Försäkringskassans inläsningscentral 839 88 Östersund.
Minimise
Call the customer center and request a form to apply. Unfortunately you cannot apply to My pages unless you are a custodian. Your cohabiting partner can transfer your parental benefit days to you. It does so on My pages.
When you get home the form you apply for parental benefit.
Minimera
2. 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.
Apply for parental benefit (in Swedish) (login)
3. Disbursement
If your application is complete, the money is disbursed within 30 days. The money will arrive on the 25th of every month.
How the money is paid out
Example: If you apply for parental benefit for January, the money for 1–20 January will be paid on 25 January. The money for 21–31 January is paid on 25 February.
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 one 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.
Minimise
When will the disbursement appear on My pages (Mina sidor)?
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 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.
Apply for parental benefit (in Swedish) (login)
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 your child is younger than 1 year old
If you are on parental leave full-time or part-time (or refrain from seeking work if you are a job seeker), you do not have to do anything to protect your qualifying income. You keep the same qualifying income you had when the child was born, even if you are not collecting parental benefit.
Minimise
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 was born.
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. This means that your parental benefit will be lower and you will receive lower compensation if you get sick or stay home to care for a sick child.
Minimise
When your child turns 1 year old
If you are on parental leave full-time (or completely 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.
Minimise
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 was born.
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. It is protected during the first two years of the child’s life. 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 turns two years of age.
The same applies if you or your partner become pregnant with another child before the older child is one year and nine months old. 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.
Minimise
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.
Start the SGI-guide (in Swedish)