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US drops to 12th in the prosperity index


OverSword

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They started calling the middle class here,"the working poor" ,around 2005.

No one paid attention . Working poor meant you made less than 50,000 a year I think .

50K a year used to be making a living ,now it doesn't cover everything. So many previously accepted salaries,are now considered crap

I make just over 50k a year, and I have no problems. No debt. Low interest mortgage. Wife does not have to work. Kids get to go to Christian schools. We live fairly simply and just don't go out and buy a new 100 inch TV every year, and a new 30,000 dollar car every year. We live within our means... Which is a totally foreign concept to our Federal Government and an extremely large population of our people. There are so many "poor" with TV screens that take up an entire wall of their house.

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I think this list is Bogus... It has several catagories that make up the ratings, and under "Health" the USA is Number 2, and under "Education" the USA is Number 5. So our Health is only beat by Luxembourg, and only Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia beat our Education. That totally does not sound right to me, so I'm calling Shinanegans on this List.

Looks like Switzerland would have been number one, but they got a Education rank of 32.

It appears almost like someone was tossing darts to determine the numbers...

Correct, because all education counts. Can you name a top Swiss university? A top Swiss non-elitarian (boarding) school? And there is where they end up pretty far down the list. If you establish the education level of a country what you go for is the medium. Any third world country has a elite educated in Yale, Oxford or Cambridge... but they don't make the grade because most of the rest are illiterate.

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Correct, because all education counts. Can you name a top Swiss university? A top Swiss non-elitarian (boarding) school? And there is where they end up pretty far down the list. If you establish the education level of a country what you go for is the medium. Any third world country has a elite educated in Yale, Oxford or Cambridge... but they don't make the grade because most of the rest are illiterate.

But the US (in this list) is ranked 5th in Education?? and 2nd in Health??

Is "No Child Left Behind" responsible for this?

Edited by DieChecker
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But the US (in this list) is ranked 5th in Education?? and 2nd in Health??

Is "No Child Left Behind" responsible for this?

No Child Left Behind is just the last error in a long list of errors. The first was in the 60s when they made parents believe they could enjoy life and the government (or church, depending where you are) would take care of the education of their children, the second was to leave the community out of it, and I could go on with a list as long as my arm to end up with No Child Left Behind.

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I think this list is Bogus... It has several catagories that make up the ratings, and under "Health" the USA is Number 2, and under "Education" the USA is Number 5. So our Health is only beat by Luxembourg, and only Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia beat our Education. That totally does not sound right to me, so I'm calling Shinanegans on this List.

You think the US has the best education system on the planet?

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You think the US has the best education system on the planet?

Nope. I think we should be closer to number 20. I certainly don't think we are number 2.

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What they did was collecting information on 8 different categorises from all different countires that are fundamental for a societies well being as well as it citizens.

The Legatum Prosperity Index assessed and ranked the prosperity of 142 countries based on eight sub-categories: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, health, governance, education, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.

From that they made a sort of a mean-value.

Why the Scandinavian countries comes out on top 5 over and over is that they have a strong, well rooted system of balance between a benevolent attitude to entrepreneurship combined with good equal schools for everyone regardless where you live, and a safety-net feeling that if one runs out of luck, being injured, sick or lose ones job, you dont have that enormous stress of putting your whole family on the street

Higher education are reachable for everyone who can pass the initial testing, the funding for it are very reasonable loan that wont have you repaying for the rest of your life, available for all by applying.

The social net here works like, if one of the guys in the trapeze at the circus misses his jump, he gets in the net. And when he has sorted himself out, he is out and back up there going at it a again

I'm going to give you a.10-min crash-course in Swedish Social Security:

This system does not make us feel weak, hounded with, bullied, slaves, suppressed or anything that people think Social Democracy does, on the contriary.

It just feels safe and unstressful that once you are sick you do not haft to go through the struggle with an insurance company when one need that strength to fight the illness instead etc etc

Most of the people have come in contact with it and the majority has been very well treated to their life and comfort and everyone is happy to pay to such a system for several reasons.

One is that its there for them when and if they come in need, the other are that the system helps others around you to get better and quicker comes back out on the track to work which benefits everyone. We pay high taxes, but what we get in return are real, and it is working well.

Socialförsäkringen på 10 minuter – översiktlig information från Försäkringskassan

Swedish Social Insurancein 10 minutes

If you live or work in Sweden, you are covered by Swedish social

insurance. This means that you only have to pay a set fee when you visit

the doctor or are in hospital. It also means that you may be entitled to

various benefits from the state. This is especially the case when you are

old, when you have children and if you cannot work as usual because you

are ill or have a disability.

Who decides about social insurance?

[Vem bestämmer om socialförsäkringen?]

The Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, has decided what social insurance is

to cover. You must apply to receive certain benefits. Försäkringskassan

makes an assessment of whether you are entitled to a benefit and pays out

the money.

Would you like to know more?

[Vill du veta mer?]

This information is primarily intended for people who have recently

arrived in Sweden. It only provides very general information. If you would

like to know more, you can find more to read here at our website. In-depth

information about benefits is available in the form of fact sheets which you

can print out. Many of the fact sheets are available in several different

languages.

At the end of this information, there is also a list of explanations of some

of the words in the text.

Benefits if you have children

[Ersättningar till dig som har barn]

Child allowance [barnbidrag] and large family supplement

[flerbarnstillägg]

[barnbidrag och flerbarnstillägg]

In Sweden, all children receive child allowance until they attain the age of

16. Children who still attend compulsory school receive extended child

allowance [förlängt barnbidrag] after they attain the age of 16.

Child allowance is paid to one of the child’s parents. If you do not choose

which of you is to receive the allowance, it will be paid to the mother.

If you do not live with the other parent, you can share the child allowance.

The child must then live approximately the same amount of time with each

of you.

Child allowance is paid from and including the month after the birth of the

child. If the child moves to Sweden, it is paid from the month after the

month that the child is considered as being resident in Sweden.

Child allowance is tax free. You do not need to apply for child allowance.

Large family supplement

[Flerbarnstillägg]

If you have child allowance for two or more children, you will receive a

large family supplement. Children who are 16 or over who have study

allowance [studiebidrag] or extended child allowance are also counted for

the large family supplement.

If you are two parents who live together and have children from previous

relationships, which you receive child allowance or study allowance for,

you can count all of your children to receive large family supplement.

However, you must be or have been married to one another or have or have

had a common child.

If you are two parents who live together but have chosen different

recipients of child allowances, you will not automatically receive large

family supplement. To receive large family supplement, you must notify

that you want to count all of the children in the family.

If the child is staying abroad

[Om barnet vistas utomlands]

You must notify Försäkringskassan if your child is going to stay abroad for

longer than six months.

Special rules apply if you move from Sweden to work in another EU/EEA

country or Switzerland. In certain countries, you are entitled to benefits

that correspond to child allowance. You may need a certificate from

Försäkringskassan to obtain benefits when you work in another country.

Parental benefit

[Föräldrapenning]

What is parental benefit?

[Vad är föräldrapenning?]

Parental benefit is the benefit parents receive to be able to be home from

work to take care of their children.

How many days can I receive parental benefit for?

[Hur många dagar kan jag få föräldrapenning?]

Parental benefit is paid for a total of 480 days per child. Parents with twins

receive an additional 180 days of parental benefit.

Parents with joint custody receive 240 days each of parental benefit. Of

these days, 60 are reserved for each parent. You can choose to transfer the

other days to the other parent.

If you have sole custody, you are entitled to all 480 days.

When can I take out parental benefit?

[När kan jag ta ut föräldrapenning?]

If you are pregnant, you can take out parental benefit from and including

the 60th day before the expected delivery date. Parental benefit can then be

paid until your child attains the age of eight or finishes his or her first

school year.

If you are an adoptive parent, parental benefit can be taken out within eight

years of the day you started to take care of the child, although at the

longest until the child attains the age of ten.

The maternity clinic often offers parental training when you are expecting

a child. Both parents can take part at the same time in this parental training

and receive parental benefit for the same time.

How much money do you get?

[Hur mycket pengar får man?]

There are three different benefit levels. The first is called sickness benefit

level [sjukpenningnivå] and applies for 390 days. The amount you receive

in benefit for days at sickness benefit level depends on how large your

income has been.

The second benefit level is called the basic level [grundnivå]. This is the

case if you have low income or no income at all.

The third level is called the minimum level [lägstanivå]. This applies for

180 days and is the same for everyone regardless of the size of the income

you have had.

Can parental benefit be taken out for parts of days?

[Kan man ta ut föräldrapenning för delar av dagar?]

You can receive parental benefit for a full day or part of a day. How much

parental benefit you can take out per day depends on how much you work

in relation to normal working time for a fully-employed person in your

occupation.

Temporary parental benefit [Tillfällig föräldrapenning] in

connection with the birth of a child or adoption

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning i samband med barns födelse eller

adoption]

When a child is born, its father or the other parent can be free from work

for ten days with benefit in the form of temporary parental benefit. This

also applies if you adopt a child below the age of 10. You can take out

benefit at the same time as the mother takes out parental benefit.

Other persons may also take out the benefit. This is the case, for example,

if the mother is a sole parent.

You may take out these days until and including the sixtieth day after the

child has come home after delivery. You can take out benefit for a whole

day or for part of a day. Accordingly, you can choose to be at home for 20

half days instead of 10 whole days, for example.

Temporary parental benefit for care of a sick child

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning vid vård av sjukt barn]

If you cannot work because you have to take care of a sick child, you can

receive temporary parental benefit. You can also obtain benefit if the

person who normally takes care of your child is ill or if, for example, you

need to accompany your child to a doctor or dentist.

You can obtain temporary parental benefit for part of a working day if you

do not need to be away from work for the whole day. If, for example, a

relative stays away from work to take care of the child, this person can

receive temporary parental benefit instead.

You cannot obtain temporary parental benefit if you are at home with the

child because the pre-school or school is closed.

Normally, you can only obtain temporary parental benefit for a child aged

under 12.

Certificate on the child’s absence from pre-school or school

[intyg om barnets frånvaro från förskola eller skola]

You must submit a certificate before money can be paid out to you. We

will send the certificate to you when you have notified that you wish to

receive temporary parental benefit. You should write on the certificate

when you have not been able to work because you have been at home with

your sick child. Then someone who works at the pre-school, recreation

centre or school must sign the certificate, after which you return it to

Försäkringskassan.

If the child is ill for a long period

[Om barnet är sjukt länge]

If the child is ill for more than seven days, you must also have a certificate

from a doctor or nurse to obtain benefit.

Temporary parental benefit for care of a child aged between 12

and 16

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning vid vård av barn som fyllt 12 men inte

16 år]

In certain cases, you can also obtain temporary parental benefit for a child

who has attained the age of 12. This is the case if the child has an illness or

disability that means that he or she requires special supervision or care.

You must have a doctor’s certificate on the child’s condition. In the case of

children with long-term illness or disability, Försäkringskassan can decide

in advance that the child will be covered by temporary parental benefit.

Temporary parental benefit for children who have attained the

age of 16 and who are covered by the Act on Support and

Service for Persons with Certain Disabilities (LSS)

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning för barn som har fyllt 16 år och som

omfattas av LSS]

You are also entitled to temporary parental benefit for children who have

attained the age of 16 if the child is covered by the Act on Support and

Service for Persons with Certain Disabilities (LSS) [Lagen om stöd och

service till vissa funktionshindrade (LSS)]. This applies until the child

attains the age of 21, in certain cases 23. Among other things, LSS covers

children who have a developmental disorder or autism.

You can only obtain temporary parental benefit for children who have

attained the age of 16 if you need to stay away from work due to the child

being ill or contagious. You can accordingly not obtain temporary parental

benefit when the child’s ordinary carer is ill or contagious.

In the case of a child with a long-term illness or disability,

Försäkringskassan can decide in advance that the child will be covered by

temporary parental benefit.

Temporary parental benefit after the age of 21

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning efter 21 års ålder]

You can obtain temporary parental benefit for the child until the end of the

spring term the year that the child attains the age of 23 if the child attends

special upper secondary school for pupils with learning disabilities or is

severely disabled and attends a special upper secondary school.

Temporary parental benefit for care of a seriously ill child

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning vid vård av allvarligt sjukt barn]

If you are the parent of a seriously ill child below the age of 18, you are

entitled to temporary parental benefit for an unlimited number of days. A

child is considered to be seriously ill when there is great danger for the

child’s life or when the child receives treatment for its illness and the

child’s life would be in danger without this treatment. Both parents are

entitled to benefit for the same child and time.

You need a special medical opinion, which is to contain information about

the diagnosis and a description of the child’s illness and its treatment. It

should also state how much the parents need to be with the child during the

treatment.

The medical opinion shall be written so that it applies from the first day for

which you request benefit. However, this is not necessary if

Försäkringskassan already has sufficient information about the child’s state

of health.

Childcare allowance

[VÃ¥rdbidrag]

You can obtain childcare allowance if your child needs special supervision

and care for at least six months. The size of the childcare allowance varies

according to how great the child’s needs are. You are also entitled to

childcare allowance if you have large additional expenses due to the

child’s disability or illness.

The childcare allowance is paid to the parent who applies for the

allowance. It is also possible for two parents to share the childcare

allowance. You can obtain childcare allowance from the birth of the child

until the month of June in the year that the child attains the age of 19.

If there are several children in the same family with an illness or disability,

Försäkringskassan makes an assessment of the combined need of

supervision and care and the combined additional expenses for the

children. In this way, you can obtain childcare allowance even if each child

individually would not entitle to childcare allowance.

Maintenance support

[underhållsstöd]

Both parents must assist in maintaining the child. When a child lives with

only one of the parents, the other parent shall therefore pay child support

[underhållsbidrag]. You can decide yourselves how much child support

should be.

If the parent who is to pay child support does not do so, the child may be

entitled to maintenance support from Försäkringskassan. Maintenance

support compensates the child for the lack of child support up to a certain

level, and is paid to the parent who lives with the child. Maintenance

support is paid at the longest until the child attains the age of 18.

The parent who should have paid child support must reimburse money for

maintenance support to Försäkringskassan

In order for a child to be entitled to maintenance support, the child and its

parent must be resident in Sweden.

Extended maintenance support for students

[Förlängt underhållsstöd till studerande]

Children aged between 18 and 20 can receive extended maintenance

support. In order to be entitled to extended maintenance support, the child

must be unmarried and attend compulsory school, upper secondary school

or the equivalent full time. Extended maintenance support is paid directly

to the child. The child shall also apply for the support itself.

Income-tested maintenance support in the case of alternate residence

[inkomstprövat underhållsstöd vid växelvis boende]

If the child lives alternately about as much with each parent, you can also

receive maintenance support. This is called maintenance support for

alternate residence.

The parents apply separately for maintenance support for alternate

residence. The size of the support depends on your respective income. The

support need not be repaid to Försäkringskassan.

If two parents live and work in two different countries

[Om två föräldrar bor och arbetar i olika länder]

Parents who live and work in two different countries in the EU may be

entitled to benefit from both countries. This means that, if you work in

Sweden and have children who live in another EU Member State, you can

obtain child allowance, parental benefit, maintenance support and housing

allowance in the same way as if the child lived in Sweden. It also means

that if you work in another EU Member State but have a child that lives in

Sweden, you can obtain benefits from the country where you work.

Housing allowance

[bostadsbidrag]

If you pay a lot for your housing, you may be entitled to housing

allowance. This applies to young people and families with children.

Housing allowance for families with children

[bostadsbidrag till barnfamiljer]

Families with children with low income can receive housing allowance.

You can obtain housing allowance regardless of whether you own or rent

your home. However, you must live and be registered in the Population

Register at the address for which you apply for housing allowance.

You are treated as a family with children if you have a child who lives with

your or who lives with you at times. The child or children must be under

the age of 18. If a child receives study assistance for upper secondary

students or extended child allowance, the child can be counted as part of

the household even after attaining the age of 18.

The amount you can receive in housing allowance depends on your

income, your housing costs, the size of your home and the number of

children in the family. When you apply for an allowance, you must state

the income that you expect to earn during the year. If you receive a higher

income than expected, you may have to reimburse money. If you receive

less than expected, you may receive more allowance retrospectively. You

must therefore always notify us if your income changes to avoid having to

reimburse money.

Housing allowance for young people without children

[bostadsbidrag till unga utan barn]

You can obtain housing allowance if you have attained the age of 18 but

are less than 29 years old and have a low income. You can obtain housing

allowance regardless of whether you own or rent your home. However,

you must live and be registered in the Population Register at the address

for which you apply for housing allowance.

If you have come to Sweden to study, you cannot normally obtain housing

allowance. An exception is if you come from another Nordic country when

you may be entitled to housing allowance if you are registered in the

Population Register in Sweden.

The amount you can receive in housing allowance depends on your

income, your housing costs and the size of your housing. When you apply

for the allowance, you must state the income you expect to earn during the

year. If you receive a higher income than expected, you may have to

reimburse money. If you receive less than expected, you may receive more

money retrospectively.

Benefits when you are ill or have a disability

[Ersättningar till dig som är sjuk eller har en

funktionsnedsättning]

If you are ill and unable to work

[Om du är sjuk och inte kan arbeta]

If you become ill, you can either receive money from your employer or

from Försäkringskassan. Money you receive from your employer is called

sick pay [sjuklön] and money from Försäkringskassan is called sickness

benefit [sjukpenning].

Sick pay is 80 per cent of your pay. Sickness benefit is slightly less than 80

per cent of your wage of your income. However, there is an upper limit for

how much sickness benefit you can receive. Income above this limit does

not entitle you to higher sickness benefit.

Regardless of whether you receive sick pay or sickness benefit, the first

day you are ill is a waiting period. This means that you do not receive any

money for this day.

If you are ill, but can none the less work for part of the day, you can

receive a quarter, half or three-quarter sickness benefit.

If you are ill for more than a week, you must submit a medical certificate

on your illness to your employer. If you have no employer, you submit the

certificate to Försäkringskassan.

If you can work but cannot get to your work in the ordinary way because

of your illness, your employer or Försäkringskassan can pay compensation

for travel to and from work instead of sick pay or sickness benefit.

If you are an employee

[Om du är anställd]

You are entitled to sick pay from your employer for the first 14 days of

illness if you have been an employee for at least a month or have worked

for a continuous period of 14 days. You should notify your employer that

you are ill and unable to work.

If you are ill for longer than 14 days, your employer will no longer pay

sick pay to you. Instead, you can receive sickness benefit from

Försäkringskassan.

If you are unemployed or self-employed

[Om du är arbetslös eller egen företagare]

If you are not employed, you can obtain money from Försäkringskassan for

the first 14 days of illness as well. You must notify Försäkringskassan the

first day you are ill.

Sickness compensation

[sjukersättning]

Sickness compensation is benefit for a person who will probably never be

able to work full-time again due to a disability, injury or illness. You can

obtain full, three-quarter, half or a quarter sickness compensation

depending on how much your work capacity has been reduced.

To obtain sickness compensation, you must be aged between 30 and 64.

Your work capacity must have been reduced at least by a quarter.

You can apply for sickness compensation yourself or we may decide to

replace your sickness benefit by sickness compensation.

Activity compensation

[Aktivitetsersättning]

Activity compensation is a benefit for those who are young and who will

probably not be able to work full time for at least a year because of illness,

injury or a disability. You can obtain a full, three-quarter, half or a quarter

activity compensation depending on how much your work capacity has

been reduced. You can be granted activity compensation for at most three

years at a time.

You must be aged between 19 and 29 to receive activity compensation.

Your work capacity must be reduced by at least a quarter.

You can apply for activity compensation yourself or we can decide to

replace your sickness benefit by activity compensation.

How much will I receive in sickness or activity compensation?

[Hur mycket får jag i sjuk- eller aktivitetsersättning?]

If you have worked for at least a year in Sweden, you can receive income-

related benefit. Full income-related benefit gives you 64 per cent of your

assumed income [antagandeinkomst]. The assumed income is the income

that Försäkringskassan calculates that you probably would have received if

you had continued to work.

If you have low or no income, you can receive guarantee benefit

[garantiersättning]. The size of guarantee benefit depends on your age and

the length of time you have lived in Sweden.

Can I receive benefit if I live outside Sweden?

[Kan jag få ersättning om jag bor utanför Sverige?]

Income-related sickness and activity compensation is paid to you

regardless of the country you live in. However, you can only receive

guarantee benefit if you live in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or

Canada.

Activities

[Aktiviteter]

When you have activity compensation, you have the opportunity to take

part in various activities. These are voluntary and do not affect your

compensation. These activities are intended to help and support you in

your development and to affect your illness or disability in a positive way.

They should also contribute to improving your prospects to increase your

work capacity.

Housing supplement

[bostadstillägg]

If you have sickness or activity compensation, you can also obtain

financial help to pay for your housing. This is called housing supplement.

You can receive housing supplement regardless of whether you own or

rent your home. The amount you can receive depends on your income and

on how much you pay for your housing.

Attendance allowance

[Assistansersättning]

If you have a substantial and permanent disability and need a lot of help to

cope with everyday life, you can receive money to pay for a personal

assistant. This is called attendance allowance. Both adults and children can

obtain attendance allowance.

To obtain attendance allowance, you must need assistance with mealtimes,

washing, clothing and communicating with others. Försäkringskassan pays

attendance allowance if you need this kind of assistance for more than 20

hours a week. If you can cope with less time, you should contact your

municipality to obtain help.

Normally you cannot obtain attendance allowance when you are being

cared for at a hospital or in some other institution, live in group housing,

attend school or participate in other daily activity. There are certain

exceptions, for example, if you are only in hospital for a short time.

There is no lower age limit for receiving attendance allowance. However,

when you have attained the age of 65, you can only obtain attendance

allowance if the decision was made before you attained the age of 65.

Disability allowance

[Handikappersättning]

You can obtain disability allowance if you need additional assistance due

to illness or disability. This applies if you need more time-consuming

assistance in your everyday life to be able to work or study. You can also

receive disability allowance if you have additional expenses due to your

illness or disability. You must need support for at least a year.

How much can I receive in disability allowance?

[Hur mycket kan jag få i handikappersättning?]

The amount of disability allowance you receive depends on your need of

assistance and how much your additional expenses are. Disability

allowance is tax free.

Are there any age limits?

[Finns det några åldersgränser?]

You can obtain disability allowance from and including the month when

you attain the age of 19. You must have become disabled before you

attained the age of 65. However, if you still need assistance, you may

retain the disability allowance after attaining the age of 65.

Car allowance for the disabled

[bilstöd]

You can obtain car allowance for the disabled if you have great difficulties

in getting about on our own, or in using public transport due to a

Socialförsäkringen på 10 minuter – översiktlig information från Försäkringskassan

Permanent disability.

You can also obtain car allowance for the disabled if

you have a child with a disability if you need the car to be able to move

about with the child.

You can obtain an allowance to purchase a car, make alterations to a car,

and to take a driving licence. You can also obtain a car allowance to

purchase a motorcycle or a moped.

To obtain car allowance for the disabled, you must choose a car which is

suitable for adaptation taking into consideration your or your child’s

disability. You cannot obtain car allowance for a car you purchased before

we have decided that you are entitled to car allowance for the disabled.

Support for the elderly

[stöd till äldre]

Old age pension

[Ã…lderspension]

If you have worked in Sweden, you are entitled to an old age pension. A

person who has not worked but has lived in Sweden for at least three years

can also receive some old age pension.

Pension based on work

[Pension som grundar sig på arbete]

If you have worked in Sweden and earned a taxable work income, you will

be entitled to Swedish old age pension. All income from work for the

whole of your life entitles you to old age pension. Accordingly, the more

years you work, the higher your pension will be.

Contributions are paid for your income for every year of work. These

contributions give you pension entitlements [pensionsrätter]. The higher

the income you have, the more contributions are paid in. Pension

entitlements will also be larger then. Pension entitlements are added up

year by year and indexed so that their value changes according to the

development of income in Sweden. The total sum of your pension

entitlements determines the pension you will receive.

You can decide yourself when you wish to draw your pension, although at

the earliest from the age of 61. Your pension will be higher the longer you

wait to draw it. You are also entitled to pension if you do not live in

Sweden as a pensioner.

Pension is not paid out automatically. You must apply for it yourself to

receive the pension.

Pension due to residence

[Pension genom bosättning]

If you have not worked in Sweden but have lived here for at least three

years, you can still receive an old age pension. This is called a guarantee-

pension [garantipension]. If you have had low income, you can receive a

small guarantee pension as a supplement to the pension you have earned.

The more years you have lived in Sweden, the higher the pension becomes.

If you have lived in Sweden for at least 40 years, you will receive a full

amount.

If you have lived in Sweden for a shorter period than three years, you can

count time you have lived in another EU/EEA country to come up to a

three-year residence period. If you have come to Sweden and received a

residence permit as a refugee or a person in need of protection, you can

also in certain cases, count some of your period of residence in your home

country. In this way, you can receive more guarantee pension that you

would receive due to your period of residence in Sweden.

If you comply with the requirements for guarantee pension, you can obtain

it when you attain the age of 65. You must live in Sweden or another

country within the EU/EEA to have your guarantee pension paid.

Housing supplement

[bostadstillägg]

Pensioners with a low income who live in Sweden can receive financial

assistance to pay for their housing. This is called housing supplement. To

obtain housing supplement, you must have attained the age of 65 and draw

the whole of your pension. The amount of housing supplement you receive

depends on both your housing costs and your income.

Maintenance support for the elderly

[Äldreförsörjningsstöd]

If you have a very low pension or no pension at all, you can receive

maintenance support for the elderly. This may, for example, apply to you if

you have only lived for a very short time in Sweden. Maintenance support

for the elderly guarantees that everyone who lives in Sweden shall have a

reasonable standard of living. You must have attained the age of 65 to

receive maintenance support for the elderly.

Explanation of words

[Ordförklaring]

Activity compensation

[Aktivitetsersättning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan if you are aged between 19 and 29 and

have reduced work capacity due to an illness or disability. Work capacity

must be reduced by at least a quarter for at least a year.

13

Socialförsäkringen på 10 minuter – översiktlig information från Försäkringskassan

Attendance allowance

[Assistansersättning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan as compensation for the wage you pay

to a personal assistant.

Child allowance

[barnbidrag]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan to a child’s parents.

Housing allowance

[bostadsbidrag]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan to a parent or young person who earns

little money but pays a lot for his or her housing.

Car allowance for the disabled

[bilstöd]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan to you if you have a disability and need

a car to get about.

Large family supplement

[Flerbarnstillägg]

A supplement to child allowance for a person with at least two child

allowances.

Disability

[Funktionsnedsättning]

An illness or a reduction in physical or mental performance that makes it

difficult to carry out various activities.

Parental benefit

[Föräldrapenning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan to a parent who does not work because

he or she is looking after his or her child.

Disability allowance

[Handikappersättning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan if you need additional assistance or have

additional expenses due to a disability.

Waiting period

[Karensdag]

The first day in a sickness period for which you do not receive any benefit.

The self-employed can choose to have a longer waiting period.

Sickness compensation

[sjukersättning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan if you are aged between 30 and 64 and

14

Socialförsäkringen på 10 minuter – översiktlig information från Försäkringskassan

have a reduced work capacity because you are ill or have a disability. Your

work capacity must be reduced by at least a quarter for at least a year.

Sick pay

[sjuklön]

The payment you receive from your employer if you cannot work because

you are ill. The first day of illness is a waiting period. No sick pay is then

paid out.

Sickness benefit

[sjukpenning]

Benefit from Försäkringskassan when you cannot work due to illness.

Sickness period

[sjukperiod]

The whole time you are unable to work or can work less than usual due to

illness.

Temporary parental benefit

[Tillfällig föräldrapenning]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan, most often to a parent who cannot work

because he or she has taken care of sick child, who cannot go to school.

Temporary parental benefit is also available for other reasons.

Maintenance support

[underhållsstöd]

Money paid by Försäkringskassan to a parent who lives alone with his or

her child. The parent receives money if the other parent does not help pay

for the child or if there is no other parent.

Read more: http://www.businessi...1#ixzz2C9oMWJco

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This system does not make us feel weak, hounded with, bullied, slaves, suppressed or anything that people think Social Democracy does, on the contriary.

It just feels safe and unstressful that once you are sick you do not haft to go through the struggle with an insurance company when one need that strength to fight the illness instead etc etc

Most of the people have come in contact with it and the majority has been very well treated to their life and comfort and everyone is happy to pay to such a system for several reasons.

One is that its there for them when and if they come in need, the other are that the system helps others around you to get better and quicker comes back out on the track to work which benefits everyone. We pay high taxes, but what we get in return are real, and it is working well.

The problem I have is that your system probably has qualified experts who are properly trained for the tasks that they are doing in your social insurance and healthcare system. And here in the US such a system would be run by professional bureaucrats, who are only trying to get a raise and promotion. They care not at all for the citizens. And those who would be running the whole thing on top, are not going to be doctors, or healthcare professionals, as one might expect in Sweden, but would be lawyers, that practiced criminal law for perhaps a decade, and then became professional bureaucrats after that. I just don't have any faith at ALL that such a system would, or even could, be managed successfully in the US. It would be rife with corruption, incompetance and waste. Probably to the tune of 50% to 66%, or even more of the budget being wasted. You can call that pessimism, but what does the Swedish military pay for a hammer? The US military pays like a hundred dollars.......

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It should be kept in mind that Sweden has under 10 million people while the US has over 310 million people. A system that works for 10M may not translate into a system that works for 310M. Kind of like preparing a meal for twenty you can't take a cookbook to serve 2 and just increase the ingredients by a factor of 10.

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It should be kept in mind that Sweden has under 10 million people while the US has over 310 million people. A system that works for 10M may not translate into a system that works for 310M. Kind of like preparing a meal for twenty you can't take a cookbook to serve 2 and just increase the ingredients by a factor of 10.

I don't really agree with that, because in a smaller scale it also works for most of the 250 million inhabitants of rest Europe. Maybe not as well as in Sweden and Norway, but that has less to do with the capabilities of the system then with the incompetence of some governments.

And in the incompetence of some governments is where the dog lies buried.

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I don't really agree with that, because in a smaller scale it also works for most of the 250 million inhabitants of rest Europe. Maybe not as well as in Sweden and Norway, but that has less to do with the capabilities of the system then with the incompetence of some governments.

And in the incompetence of some governments is where the dog lies buried.

And could not the generous social benefits be somewhat responsible for the ailing economies of Greece, Spain, and France?
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And could not the generous social benefits be somewhat responsible for the ailing economies of Greece, Spain, and France?

No, certainly not in Greece. It is not as if you get it for free in any of those countries (there we would only have Britain), in fact you don't even get your social benefits for free in Sweden and Norway, you have to pay into an insurance system (in most countries both private and run by the government you can choose from), and if the insurance needs more money the premiums go up. For those who have never paid into the system (exception again Britain) all there is is welfare.

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Well that list can't be right. All the nations ranked above the US are socialist!!! And as we all know socialism dooms nations to unspeakable fates.

Anyway given the economic trouble the US has been dealing with it's no surprise it slipped but it still has a long, long way to go before coming close to Third World status.

I think you'll find the top end have large oil deposits.

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I think you'll find the top end have large oil deposits.

So does the US and Britain, what is their excuse?

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No, certainly not in Greece. It is not as if you get it for free in any of those countries (there we would only have Britain), in fact you don't even get your social benefits for free in Sweden and Norway, you have to pay into an insurance system (in most countries both private and run by the government you can choose from), and if the insurance needs more money the premiums go up. For those who have never paid into the system (exception again Britain) all there is is welfare.

LOL!!! Oh yeah, I can just see the insurance carriers underwriters trying to figure the risk on these plans. The premiums would be like $30,000.00 a year for a $40,000.00 dollar household. Edited by OverSword
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LOL!!! Oh yeah, I can just see the insurance carriers underwriters trying to figure the risk on these plans. The premiums would be like $30,000.00 a year for a $40,000.00 dollar household.

Oh, but there is where a competent government steps in. They let them earn money but stop them from overdoing it. That is why there are also government run plans.

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I think this list is Bogus... It has several catagories that make up the ratings, and under "Health" the USA is Number 2, and under "Education" the USA is Number 5. So our Health is only beat by Luxembourg, and only Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia beat our Education. That totally does not sound right to me, so I'm calling Shinanegans on this List.

Looks like Switzerland would have been number one, but they got a Education rank of 32.

It appears almost like someone was tossing darts to determine the numbers...

As much as I love the place, I agree that the health and education systems are down the toilet. How would they rank so high given the internationally renown poor systems they have implemented?

The education system is in shambles and need a complete overhaul (much like most sections of the US government). I haven't really read up on Obamacare so I can't really speak for that but health systems like here in Australia are great. You don't have to take a mortgage out on your house for an operation.

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[/left]

The problem I have is that your system probably has qualified experts who are properly trained for the tasks that they are doing in your social insurance and healthcare system. And here in the US such a system would be run by professional bureaucrats, who are only trying to get a raise and promotion. They care not at all for the citizens. And those who would be running the whole thing on top, are not going to be doctors, or healthcare professionals, as one might expect in Sweden, but would be lawyers, that practiced criminal law for perhaps a decade, and then became professional bureaucrats after that. I just don't have any faith at ALL that such a system would, or even could, be managed successfully in the US. It would be rife with corruption, incompetance and waste. Probably to the tune of 50% to 66%, or even more of the budget being wasted. You can call that pessimism, but what does the Swedish military pay for a hammer? The US military pays like a hundred dollars.......

It should be kept in mind that Sweden has under 10 million people while the US has over 310 million people. A system that works for 10M may not translate into a system that works for 310M. Kind of like preparing a meal for twenty you can't take a cookbook to serve 2 and just increase the ingredients by a factor of 10.

It could very well work in the USA if each states had the responsibility for a commonly agreed upon standard, and answered to a federal agency that was responsible for distribution of the funds and made sure each state lived up to their responsibility.

Regarding corruption or incompetence, if you have full transparency of every instance of the process and firm regulations it could very well work out. USA has around 6-7 states that have larger population than 10 millions, the rest is mostly around 5 or less, and if each state were responsible and answerable for it should work.

Corruption is fought with transparency, openness and disclosure of misdeeds.

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And could not the generous social benefits be somewhat responsible for the ailing economies of Greece, Spain, and France?

Each country are of course responsible of their economy, but if handled with care and common sense a good social net could work permanently.

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I think you'll find the top end have large oil deposits.

Sweden got no oil deposits, neither Denmark or Finland.

Norway has though, but they had their social and health care system working well before they found oil.

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No, certainly not in Greece. It is not as if you get it for free in any of those countries (there we would only have Britain), in fact you don't even get your social benefits for free in Sweden and Norway, you have to pay into an insurance system (in most countries both private and run by the government you can choose from), and if the insurance needs more money the premiums go up. For those who have never paid into the system (exception again Britain) all there is is welfare.

In Sweden you only have to pay a small fee for doctor and hospital visits, regardless if it is a check-up for a cold or a hearth transplant. You can go outside the system and get private hospital insurance if you like, but the ordinary system works just as well.

Most of the other benefits mentioned in the 10-min guide above is already payed for via tax

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Oh, but there is where a competent government steps in. They let them earn money but stop them from overdoing it. That is why there are also government run plans.

When we find a way to implement a competent government in the USA, let me know. And then I (Being the influential internet Titan that I am) will support socialized healthcare in the US.

Edited by DieChecker
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