Overview of Social Insurance in Sweden

Sweden - General Facts

• Area: 450,000 km 2 (174,000 sq mi) • About 9,3 million inhabitants • Average life expectancy from birth: men 77.9 years, women 82.4 years • Capital: Stockholm (829,417 inhabitants).

Greater Stockholm is about 2 million inhabitants • Major cities: Göteborg (507,330), Malmö (293,909) • Most common surname: Johansson

Population

• World’s oldest system of population records (church parish records from 1686) • 71% live in nuclear families (1990 census) • 80% live in urban areas and along the coast • Most retire at age 65. 17.4% retire at 65+ • Very elderly (80+) 5.3% • Fertility rate: presently 1.94 children per woman – Long-term average of ≈ 1.8

The Swedish Model

• • • Covers the entire population Based on work or residence • Provides both basic protection and income-related benefits • Facilitates free movement between different employers and geographic regions Financed through a mixture of contributions and general tax revenues

Security in all phases of the life cycle

• • Support to families with children Sickness, disability & work injury insurance for loss of income • • • • • • Unemployment insurance, services & training Pension insurance Student allowances Health care, medicine and dental care Social assistance Care for the handicapped and elderly

Categories of Benefits

•

Social insurance

payments are based on the

Income Replacement Principle

with a ceiling on contributions for pensions and on benefits for other payments.

•

Guarantee levels

for old age pensions, permanent disability, for the registered unemployed and for parental benefits.

• •

Allowances

non-means tested (child allowance) and

means-tested

social assistance and housing allowances.

Universal health

for all residents and home care for aged (small co-payments)

Administrative Order

City Hall Municipalities (290) • care for children and families • care for elderly • social assistance (cash transfers) County Councils • health care in general (21) The State • cash transfers (social insurance)

•

Supervisory Structure of Swedish Social Security National Audit Office

• Independent auditor Audits of all government agencies • Delivers to government and parliament

Parliament Government Agency for Public

•

Management

Follows up and evaluates the management of public agencies

Ministry of Finance Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Ministry of Labor National Financial Management Authority

• Acounting standards • Sets standards and monitors results for financial performance and efficiency

Tax Authority Collects:

• • • • Contributions Income taxes Value added tax All other taxes

Social Insurance Supervisory Authority Social Insurance Agency Pays:

• • • Sickness and disability Family benefits Handicap benefits

Pensions Agency Pays:

• Pensions

Unemployment Insurance Board National Board of Health and Welfare Supervises :

• • • Health Care • Services for parents, elderly and handicapped Social assistance Special programs

Institute for LM Policy Evaluation

• • •

National Employment Agency

• Web based nationwide listing of available jobs Employer contacts Job search services Training, education programs

Personal registration number All citizens

:

Personal code number

Date of birth Birth No. Control digit

64 08 23 - 323 4

Introduced in 1947 (1967)

Organisation before 2005

RFV - supervising government agency, head office in Stockholm IT-department in Sundsvall, Kalix, Söderhamn and Karlskrona 21 independent social insurance offices Individual case management

The administrative reform

22 organisations 22 forms of governance 22 cultures 1 January 2005 One organisation One committee One principal

A coherent government agency

The Government’s demands: • • Clear leadership Common attitudes • One single human resource policy With the objective to break the development of the ill-health absence

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency

• 54 million pay outs a year • (including pensions) 15 national and 53 local insurance • centre 5 Customer Center and Self • • • Service Around 260 local offices Around 12,900 employees Stockholm – head office

Citizens meet Försäkringskassan in different ways

(yearly basis)

Customer centre Internet Local offices

• • • • • • 8.8 million telephone calls 2.3 million service telephone transactions 416 000 e-mail 19.6 million visits of which 8.2 million to My pages (Mina sidor) 136 000 sms • 1.1 million visits

Letters and forms

• • 45 million letters sent 644 different forms