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Demokratiskolan
The Subsidies & benefits card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 9 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaThe state & public administration
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
The state & public administration

Subsidies & benefits

Supporting people & encouraging behavior

Child allowance, sickness benefit, housing benefit, income support. Benefits are society's way of evening out life's risks, and almost everyone uses one of them at some point. Most of it is decided by the Riksdag (Sweden's parliament) and paid out by national agencies, but the very last safety net is held by your municipality (kommun).

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · income support & social services · approx 25 %
  • State · social insurance & rules · approx 70 %
  • EU · coordination across borders · approx 5 %

The Riksdag sets the rules and the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) pays out. The general election shapes most of it, but the municipal election governs the last safety net.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe last safety net
The regionOn the side
Central governmentThe insurance machine · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The social welfare committee (socialnämnd) and the caseworkers of the social services in your municipality.
No formal role in the benefit systems.
The Riksdag passes the laws. The Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) and the Pensions Agency (Pensionsmyndigheten) decide and pay out.
What do they decide?
Income support and other financial assistance under the Social Services Act, when no other income is enough.
The region provides care, not cash support. Some smaller reimbursements exist, such as help with travel to care.
Child allowance, parental benefit, sickness benefit, housing benefit and pension: social insurance follows you through life.
Where are decisions made?
At the social services office. Decisions are in writing and can be appealed to the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt).
In the region's own rules, for example for travel to care and for fees.
At the agencies. Decisions can be reconsidered and then appealed to the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt).
Who pays?
The municipal tax.
The regional tax, for the small forms of support that do exist.
The central government budget: taxes and employer contributions.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Apply for the support you are entitled to, appeal a rejection, contact the politicians on the social welfare committee.
Regional election Contact the region's politicians about travel to care and fees.
General election The general election shapes the levels and the conditions. Ask for a reconsideration of a decision you disagree with.
EUEU rules coordinate social insurance when you live or work in another EU country, so that your rights follow you. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A household where the money runs out
  1. State

    The Riksdag draws the safety net

    The Social Insurance Code and the Social Services Act decide which forms of support exist, who is entitled to them and on what conditions. It all starts in the legislation.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides the levels and conditions of benefits. Inquiries into new rules go out for open referral (remiss) that anyone can respond to.

  2. State

    The Social Insurance Agency assesses the national support

    The household applies for housing benefit. The caseworker decides according to the law, not personal opinion, and the decision must be given in writing with reasons.

    Point of influence

    If you are dissatisfied you can ask the agency for a reconsideration, and then appeal to the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt), free of charge.

  3. Municipality

    Social services assess income support

    When the national support is not enough, the municipality's social services step in. The support is assessed individually, with the national norm as a floor, and these decisions can also be appealed. A rejection can be appealed to the administrative court, and further to the administrative court of appeal and the Supreme Administrative Court.

  4. Municipality

    The municipality's politicians set the frame

    The social welfare committee decides the budget and the guidelines for social services: staffing, processing times and what service the office provides.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election governs the social welfare committee. Many municipalities also accept a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) about the service of social services.

  5. Your everyday life

    The money arrives on the twentieth

    The child allowance lands in the account on the same day every month, with no application. Behind that quiet transfer lie a law, an agency and a Riksdag decision on the amount.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which forms of support have you or your family used, and did you know who paid them out?

  2. What should be a benefit for everyone, and what should be an insurance you earn?

  3. Is it reasonable that the last safety net looks different depending on which municipality you live in?

  4. How much checking of the person applying for support is reasonable, and when does it become demeaning?

  5. If you could change a single benefit, which would it be and why?

Glossary

Socialförsäkring
The national support that follows you through life, from parental benefit to pension, gathered in the Social Insurance Code.
Försörjningsstöd
The municipality's financial assistance when all other income is exhausted, assessed individually by social services.
Riksnorm
The minimum level for the most common costs covered by income support, decided by the Government each year.
Omprövning
Your right to have a decision by the Social Insurance Agency reviewed once more by the agency itself.
Förvaltningsrätt
The court that reviews appealed agency decisions, free of charge for you.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.