Maintenance Support for the Elderly
Äldreförsörjningsstöd
Coverage
- Every individual resident in Sweden is insured for residence-based benefits. Habitual residence is defined as having intended residence for more than 12 months. The maintenance support for the elderly is residence-based.
- Persons residing in Sweden who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income and who have not qualified for the full guarantee pension.
Financing
- The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.
Administration
- The ‘Pension Agency’ (Pensionsmyndigheten) administers the scheme.
Qualifying Conditions
- Persons residing in Sweden.
- Persons who have reached the age of 65, which is the retirement age for the guarantee pension.
- Persons with income below subsistence level as defined by law can receive maintenance support.
- Maintenance support is income-tested: individual must receive a pension and total income of below SEK 5,894 (or SEK 4,802 if person lives with a spouse), i.e. the minimum threshold as defined by law to be awarded the benefit.
Benefits
- Maintenance support is paid to persons with a low or no pension and is aimed at securing a reasonable standard of living.
- A pension for a reasonable standard of living, as defined by law, is SEK 5,894 for an individual in a single household, and SEK 4,802 for an individual living with a spouse.
- The level of the maintenance support is based on the total income after tax and deduction of reasonable housing costs (up to a ceiling of SEK 7,000/3,500).
- Maintenance support is typically granted for 12 calendar months; renewable if qualifying conditions persist; benefit payments can be suspended if the beneficiary leaves Sweden for a period exceeding three months.
- The benefit is not subject to tax.
Coverage
Financing
Administration
Qualifying Conditions
Benefits
- Every individual resident in Sweden is insured for residence-based benefits. Habitual residence is defined as having intended residence for more than 12 months. The maintenance support for the elderly is residence-based.
- Persons residing in Sweden who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income and who have not qualified for the full guarantee pension.
- The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.
- The ‘Pension Agency’ (Pensionsmyndigheten) administers the scheme.
- Persons residing in Sweden.
- Persons who have reached the age of 65, which is the retirement age for the guarantee pension.
- Persons with income below subsistence level as defined by law can receive maintenance support.
- Maintenance support is income-tested: individual must receive a pension and total income of below SEK 5,894 (or SEK 4,802 if person lives with a spouse), i.e. the minimum threshold as defined by law to be awarded the benefit.
- Maintenance support is paid to persons with a low or no pension and is aimed at securing a reasonable standard of living.
- A pension for a reasonable standard of living, as defined by law, is SEK 5,894 for an individual in a single household, and SEK 4,802 for an individual living with a spouse.
- The level of the maintenance support is based on the total income after tax and deduction of reasonable housing costs (up to a ceiling of SEK 7,000/3,500).
- Maintenance support is typically granted for 12 calendar months; renewable if qualifying conditions persist; benefit payments can be suspended if the beneficiary leaves Sweden for a period exceeding three months.
- The benefit is not subject to tax.
Legal Basis: Social Insurance Code (Socialförsäkringsbalken, 2010:110).
Housing Supplement
Bostadstillägg
Coverage
- Every individual resident in Sweden is insured for residence-based benefits. Habitual residence is defined as having intended residence for more than 12 months. The housing supplement is residence-based.
- Persons residing in Sweden who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income and who have not qualified for the full guarantee pension.
Financing
- The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.
Administration
- The ‘Pension Agency’ (Pensionsmyndigheten) administers the scheme.
Qualifying Conditions
- Persons residing in Sweden.
- Persons who have reached the age of 65, which is the retirement age for the guarantee pension, and who take out a pension (if the person is eligible for income pension and premium pension).
- The benefit is income-tested: based on the person’s/household’s income from pension benefits (incl. public, occupational, and private pensions), income from work, capital income and other income; assets will also affect the benefit.
- A maximum amount is typically awarded if a person’s total income (incl. pensions and capital income) is below 2,181 ‘price base amounts’ (SEK 103,161) for single and 1.951 ‘price base amounts’ (SEK 92,282) for married persons, i.e. ‘free amount’ (fribelopp).
- If the income is higher than the ‘free amount’ it will affect the level of the benefit.
Benefits
- The supplement is aimed at persons with a low pension who need support for covering housing costs.
- The supplement is typically granted without a time limit and is renewed as long as qualifying conditions persist.
- The supplement is calculated with reference to housing costs, income and family situation.
- The supplement is not subject to tax.
Coverage
Financing
Administration
Qualifying Conditions
Benefits
- Every individual resident in Sweden is insured for residence-based benefits. Habitual residence is defined as having intended residence for more than 12 months. The housing supplement is residence-based.
- Persons residing in Sweden who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income and who have not qualified for the full guarantee pension.
- The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.
- The ‘Pension Agency’ (Pensionsmyndigheten) administers the scheme.
- Persons residing in Sweden.
- Persons who have reached the age of 65, which is the retirement age for the guarantee pension, and who take out a pension (if the person is eligible for income pension and premium pension).
- The benefit is income-tested: based on the person’s/household’s income from pension benefits (incl. public, occupational, and private pensions), income from work, capital income and other income; assets will also affect the benefit.
- A maximum amount is typically awarded if a person’s total income (incl. pensions and capital income) is below 2,181 ‘price base amounts’ (SEK 103,161) for single and 1.951 ‘price base amounts’ (SEK 92,282) for married persons, i.e. ‘free amount’ (fribelopp).
- If the income is higher than the ‘free amount’ it will affect the level of the benefit.
- The supplement is aimed at persons with a low pension who need support for covering housing costs.
- The supplement is typically granted without a time limit and is renewed as long as qualifying conditions persist.
- The supplement is calculated with reference to housing costs, income and family situation.
- The supplement is not subject to tax.
Legal Basis: Social Insurance Code (Socialförsäkringsbalken, 2010:110).