Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Sweden Swedish family policy Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Social Insurance Division Unit for Family Policy

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Sweden

Swedish family policy

Ministry of Health and Social AffairsSocial Insurance Division

Unit for Family Policy and Children’s Rightsand

Committee of economy and cooperation between separated parents

Ms. Jessica Löfvenholm


Swedish family policy

The Government´s intention is to strengthen parents´ power over their lives and increase families´ freedom of choice.

The Government wants to:

• make it easier for parents to combine working life with family life,

• improve the conditions for gender equality, and

• reduce national political control in favour of families´ own free choice

The best interest of the child must of be a fundamental value in policies for reconciliation of work and family life.


…more family policy

Support for • children in financially vulnerable

households• families with sick or disabled children

Also focus on the situation of children of lone parents, e.g.

• appointment of the new committe• new parental support when lone parents fall

ill


Three strategic reforms with great impact on female labour force participation in Sweden

• The introduction of individual taxation (1971)

• The introduction of paid parental leave (1974)

• Available and effordable child care (steps since 70’s)


The objective of financial family policy

“Financial family policy shall contribute to better opportunities for good financial living standards for all families with children”

Family financial support in 3 programme areas:• insurance• means-tested allowances and• general grants


Different family types with children

Single mother20%

Traditional nuclear family

68%

New family constellation

7%Single father5%


Child and family benefits

• parental insurance (parental benefit, temporarily parental benefit, pregnancy benefit)• gender equality bonus (max EUR 300)• child pension and child survivor’s benefits (EUR 130)• pension rights for childcare years

• housing allowance (max EUR 400)• care allowance for sick and disabled children • maintenance support (EUR 130)

• child allowance (EUR 100)• adoption allowance (EUR 4000)• child raising allowance – voluntary for municipalities (EUR 300)


Family policy reform 2008-2010

The Government recently introduced

• Gender equality bonus – promotes equal sharing of parental leave

• Voluntary municipal child raising allowance – smoother transition between leave and work

• Child care voucher

• Free pre-school for 3 year olds


Parental insurance – paid parental leave

The parental insurance consists of three kinds of cash benefits:

- pregnancy benefit

- parental cash benefit in connection with childbirth or adoption

- temporary parental benefit


Parental benefit days used by men

3%

9,6%10,6%9,9% 10,4%

11,6%12,4%

13,8%15,5%

17,2%18,7%

19,7%20,6%20,8%21,5%21,9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Share


The loss-of-income principle

• 80 % of annual income up to a ceiling of EUR 42 200

• the highest parental cash benefit per day is EUR 117

• the lowest parental cash benefit per day is EUR 20


parental cash benefit can be received for a period of 480 days and can be used until the child is eight years old

- for 390 days at 80 % of annual income, of which 60 days

constitute the so called mum´s and dad´s months (not transferable)

- parents with low income or no income at all receive a minimum guaranteed benefit (EUR 20/day)

- 90 days at a flat rate which is the same for everybody (EUR 20/day)

Parental cash benefit in connection with childbirth or adoption


- temporary parental benefit is given to a working parent for care of a sick child up to the age of 12

- 120 cash benefit days per year and child is available at 80% of annual income

- a parent with severe sick children under the age of 18 is entitled to an unlimited number of days

Temporary parental benefit


• the father of a new-born child is entitled to 10 days temporary parental benefit

• these days are supposed to be used either to welcome

and take care of the child or to take care of older

children in the family

• these days shall be used within 60 days

• about 75 % of all fathers used these days

”Dad´s days”


Various forms of childcare

Pre-school activities• Preschool (public and private)• Family day care (in someone’s home)• Open pre-school

School-age childcare

• Leisure-time centres• Family day care (in someone’s home) • Open leisure-time activities


Swedish childcare coverage 2006

Pre-school - 79 % (children 1-5 years old)

Family day-care - 6 % (children 1-5 years old)

School-age childcareLeisure-time centre 78 % (children 6 - 9 years

old) 10 % (children 10 -12 years old)

Family day-care 1 % (children 6 - 9 years old)


Maximum fee – children 1-5 and 6-12

age 1-5:

Child 1: 3 % of family’s income before tax– or max SEK 1260 per month

Child 2: 2 % of income – or max SEK 840 per month

Child 3: 1 % of income – or max SEK 420 per month

Child 4: no charge

• A daily 3 hours session for all children 3-6 years old is free of charge (universal pre-school)

age 6-12:

Child 1: 2% of income – max SEK 840 per month



Child 4: no charge


Different child care age 1-3 in 2005

Form of childcare per cent enrolled

Public pre-school 63

Private pre-school 12

Family day care 7

Different kinds of private care 2

At home with parent 16


Expenditure of financial support for families with children

Care allowance for disabled children

4%

Housing allowance6%

Maintenance support3%

Child pension2%

Pension rights for childcare years7%

Child allowance37%

Parental insurance41%


Total fertility rate, children per woman

1960-2009

0,00

0,50

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00


Age at birth of first child 1970-2003

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

women

men

Age


Social Security and family policy in Sweden @ Internet

www.sweden.gov.se www.forsakringskassan.se www. socialstyrelsen.se/en www.skl.se www.oecd.org


Committee on economy and cooperation between separated parents (S 2009:04)

Focus on:• how benefits affects parents to agree

on their child’s support and how they take a joint economic responsibility and agree on living arrangements

• Common with reciding alternately every other week


The committee will look into:• What are the cost/needs of a child

• If there is a need for better incentives for parents to agree on issues concerning economy and care of the child

• If a special child-account can be a solution

• Lone parents possibilities to strike a balance between work and family life


Problems that we see:

• Shared responsibility after separation – but only one of the parents can receive benefits

• No clear objectives of different benefits – support for the child or for lone parent?

Documents

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Sweden Swedish family policy Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Social Insurance Division Unit for Family Policy