Information from Försäkringskassan

Transcription

1 Information from Försäkringskassan 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 2014, you can receive between SEK and SEK per year 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.

2 * The price base amount is based on the cost of living. In 2016, the price base amount is SEK You can apply for activity compensation yourself. You do this on a special form which you can obtain from Försäkringskassan or download from 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.

3 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 per year, you will receive it in arrears in June and December each year. Amounts exceeding SEK 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.

4 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 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

5 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 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

6 You must notify all changes that may affect your entitlement to or the amount of your compensation. This is the case, for example, if 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 for more information. The fact sheet is not a legal text on this topic.