The Swedish Social Insurance system
Swedish social insurance is financed mainly through employers' contributions, with only a small proportion being covered by individual contributions. The social insurance is administered by The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, “Försäkringskassan”.
Social insurance covers various benefits related to sickness, disability, having children and retirement. If you have to stay home from work because of illness, you will receive no salary or sickness benefits the first day. For the following two weeks, you will receive sickness benefits from your employer. After those initial two weeks, sickness benefits are paid by Försäkringskassan. As a rule, sickness benefits amount to 80% of your salary (up to a certain limit). You pay income tax on the benefits, just like a regular salary.