Information from Försäkringskassan 01.01.2017
You can receive activity compensation if you are aged between 19 and 29 and your work capacity is
reduced due to illness or another reduction of your physical or mental capacity. Your work capacity must
be reduced by at least a quarter for at least a year. This reduction of work capacity shall apply to all work
available in the whole labour market. This also includes employment arranged for people with disabilities,
for example, wage subsidy employment.
You can receive full, three-quarter, half or a quarter activity compensation. The amount you receive
depends on how much your work capacity is reduced and your ability to earn your living.
Full income-related activity compensation provides you with 64 per cent of your assumed income
[antagandeinkomst], the income that Försäkringskassan [the Swedish Social Insurance Agency] calculates
that you would probably have earned if you had continued to work.
If you have had low income or no income at all, you will receive guarantee benefit. The size of guarantee
benefit depends on your age and how long you have lived in Sweden. In 2017, you can receive between
SEK 7 787 and SEK 8 715 per month in full guarantee benefit.
Income-related activity compensation and guarantee benefit are both re-calculated in January every year
when the price base amount [prisbasbeloppet]* is adjusted.
* The price base amount is based on the cost of living. In 2017, the price base amount is SEK 44 800.
You can apply for activity compensation yourself. You do this on a special form which you can obtain from
Försäkringskassan or download from www.forsakringskassan.se. You must also include a doctor’s
certificate.
If Försäkringskassan considers that you are eligible for activity compensation, we may decide to replace
your sickness benefit by activity compensation. To be able to do this, Försäkringskassan will need to
request a doctor’s certificate from the doctor who has given you sick leave.
When you apply for activity compensation, you must have a doctor’s certificate. In the first place, the
doctor you normally consult should describe your state of health in a medical certificate. However,
Försäkringskassan may also ask another doctor or expert to examine you and make an assessment of your
ability to work.
We investigate both your work situation and social circumstances. We will accordingly ask you questions
about your family circumstances, childcare, household work, leisure activities, education, secondary
employment or other commissions that may affect your entitlement to benefit.
During the period you receive activity compensation, Försäkringskassan may carry out a follow-up to
check that you are still eligible for the same level of activity compensation. This follow-up means that we
investigate whether your work capacity or your possibilities of rehabilitation have improved.
Activity compensation is paid into the account you have notified to Försäkringskassan. It is paid out on the
18th or 19th of each month. If the payment date is a Saturday, you will receive activity compensation on
the Friday. If the payment date is a Sunday, a public holiday or Midsummer Eve [midsommarafton], you
will receive payment on the following weekday. If you are resident abroad, your activity compensation will
be sent from Sweden on the payment date.
If activity compensation is at most SEK 2 400 per year, you will receive it in arrears in June and December
each year. Amounts exceeding SEK 2 400 per year may also be paid out twice per year if you ask
Försäkringskassan to do this.
During the period you have activity compensation, you must take part in vocational rehabilitation measures
as soon as possible. Vocational rehabilitation consists of measures you need to restore your work capacity.
This might, for example, be work training or other training to enable you to return to your old job or other
suitable work. Försäkringskassan is responsible for attending to your needs and taking the initiative to
provide you with rehabilitation. If you do not take part in a measure without valid reasons, your benefit
may be withdrawn or reduced.
During the period you have activity compensation, you can also take part in various activities. These
activities are to assist you in your development and have a positive effect on your illness or disability. They
shall also contribute to giving you better prerequisites to improve your work capacity.
Participating in activities is voluntary. You retain your compensation even if you decide not to take part in
any activities.
During the period you have activity compensation, you may work or study without losing your entitlement
to compensation. This is called dormant activity compensation. You must apply for dormant compensation
before you start working or studying. If you start to work, you can also apply for a test period of up to three
months with a wage and sickness compensation at the same time.
If you receive full activity compensation, you can still use a small remaining work capacity in, for example,
voluntary or political work. This means that you may work for an hour a day and earn at most an eighth of
the normal full-time income in the employment you carry out and still be entitled to full compensation.
Contact Försäkringskassan and discuss what is possible for you before you start working.
If you receive three-quarter activity compensation, Försäkringskassan is responsible for you being able to
find employment corresponding to your remaining work capacity. The Employment Service
[Arbetsförmedlingen] shall find you a place on the ordinary labour market within six months, possibly with
the aid of a wage subsidy. If this is not possible, you will be offered employment at Samhall AB.
When you are granted full activity compensation, you are no longer entitled to sickness benefit. If you have
been granted a quarter, half or three-quarter activity compensation and have an income from employment
of at least SEK 10 752 per year (24 % of the price base amount), you may, however, have a sickness
benefit qualifying income established and thus be able to receive sickness benefit if you are unable to work
due to illness.
Your activity compensation may be reduced if you also have a foreign disability pension
[invaliditetspension] or other foreign disability benefits at the same time.
You pay tax on activity compensation. Försäkringskassan deducts the tax. The amount of tax deducted may
be affected by other income you have. You should therefore notify us if you have taxable income from any
other source than Försäkringskassan, for example, income from employment.
You do not need to send your tax certificate to Försäkringskassan. Försäkringskassan receives this
information directly from the Tax Agency [Skatteverket].
If you would like Försäkringskassan to deduct less tax (for example, if you have large interest expenditure),
you can apply to your tax office for tax adjustment. You should then send the decision you receive to
Försäkringskassan. Contact Försäkringkassan if you would like the amount deducted in tax increased. The
higher tax deduction from your activity compensation will continue to be made until you request otherwise.
In January every year, you will receive a statement of tax paid and earnings from Försäkringskassan. This
states how much activity compensation you have received and the amount of tax deducted. If you have the
compensation paid into an account, you will receive the statement of tax paid and earnings together with
the deposit statement for January. Contact Försäkringskassan if you do not receive a statement of tax paid
and earnings.
More information about activity compensation and tax is available from your tax office or at
www.skatteverket.se.
Income-related activity compensation is paid to you regardless of the country you live in. However, you
can only continue to receive guarantee benefit within the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Canada. To be able to
continue to receive guarantee benefit, you must also be a citizen of one of these countries. Consult
Försäkringskassan for more information about when you are entitled to continue to receive guarantee
benefit after moving to another country.
You must notify Försäkringskassan if you move abroad permanently. It is important that you state the
address, bank and account number to which the activity compensation is to be sent.
To continue to be entitled to receive activity compensation, you must send Försäkringskassan a “life
certificate” once a year, if you live abroad. This is done as follows:
You will automatically receive a form from Försäkringskassan. Fill in the form, take a valid passport with
you and go to any of the authorities or similar listed on the form. They must certify that your information is
correct. You should then return the form to Försäkringskassan.
In certain cases, you may not receive a form for certification. At present, this applies to people living in
Finland, Norway or Germany. Information about you is instead collected through exchange of data between
Sweden and your country of residence.
When you live abroad, you may receive “Special income tax for non-residents (SINK)” [“Särskild
inkomstskatt för utomlands bosatta” (SINK)].
When you receive activity compensation, you may also receive benefits through contractual insurance. You
should therefore ask your most recent employer or trade union organisation whether there is any insurance
and what applies in your case. If you had other employers previously, you should ask them as well.
Försäkringskassan is not responsible for contractual insurance and cannot answer questions about this
insurance.
If you receive activity compensation, you may be eligible for housing supplement. You apply for housing
supplement at Försäkringskassan. See the Swedish fact sheet “Bostadstillägg till dig som har
aktivitetsersättning eller sjukersättning” [“Housing supplement for those with activity compensation or
sickness compensation”], which you can obtain from Försäkringskassan or download from
www.forsakringskassan.se.
You must notify all changes that may affect your entitlement to or the amount of your compensation. This
is the case, for example, if
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you start to work or study
you start to work to a greater extent than before, for example, if you have been granted half
compensation but start to work full-time
you continue working after a decision on dormant activity compensation has ceased to apply
your work capacity improves even if you are not working
you receive a new or changed foreign pension, annuity [livränta] or similar
you move abroad.
If you do not notify changes, your compensation may be reduced or withdrawn. You may also be liable to
reimburse if you receive too much money or have received money that you should not really have had.
Please call our customer centre at 0771-524 524 for more information.
The fact sheet is not a legal text on this topic.