Overview of Social Insurance in Sweden

• Area: 450,000 km2 (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

Sweden - General Facts

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

• 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

The Swedish Model

• 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

Security in all phases of the life cycle

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 (21)• health care in general

The State• cash transfers (social insurance)

Supervisory Structure of Swedish Social Security

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs

Ministry of Labor

Tax AuthorityCollects:

National Board of Health and

Welfare

Supervises:

Social Insurance Agency

Pays:

National Employment

Agency

Government

National Financial Management

Authority

• Acounting standards

• Sets standards and monitors

results for financial

performance and efficiency

Parliament National Audit Office

Social Insurance Supervisory Authority

Unemployment Insurance Board

Agency for Public Management

Institute for LM

Policy Evaluation

• Contributions• Income taxes• Value added

tax• All other taxes

• Independent auditor• Audits of all government agencies

• Delivers to government and parliament

• Follows up and evaluates the

management of public agencies

• Sickness and disability

• Family benefits• Handicap benefits

• Health Care• Services for parents, elderly

and handicapped

• Social assistance• Special programs

• Web based nationwide listing of available jobs

• Employer contacts• Job search services• Training, education

programsPensions Agency

• Pensions

Pays:

Personal registration number

All citizens:

Personal code number

64 08 23 - 323 4

Date of birth Birth No. Control digit

Introduced in 1947 (1967)

RFV - supervising government agency, head office in StockholmIT-department in Sundsvall, Kalix, Söderhamn and Karlskrona

21 independent social insurance offices

Individual case management

Organisation before 2005

1 January 2005

The administrative reform

One organisation

One committee

One principal

22 organisations

22 forms of governance

22 cultures

A coherent government agencyThe Government’s demands:

• Clear leadership

• Common attitudes

• One single human resource policy

With the objective to break the development of the ill-health absence

• 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

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency

Citizens meet Försäkringskassan in different ways (yearly basis)

• 1.1 million visits

• 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

• 45 million letters sent • 644 different forms

Internet

Customer centre

Local offices

Letters and forms