Social insurance if you work in Denmark

What is social insurance?

Social insurance in Sweden gives you the right to receive benefits including the following:

• sickness benefit
  
  
• child benefit
  
  
• parental allowance
  
  
• general pension
  
  
• disability allowance
  
  

If you live and work in Sweden, you are automatically affiliated to the Swedish social insurance system. If you choose to start working in Denmark, or move there, it can affect your Swedish social insurance.

Social insurance when working in Denmark

If you start working in Denmark, in most cases you should also be affiliated with the social insurance system there. You should then notify Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Security Agency) that you are working in Denmark.

As a commuter between the two countries, you can choose whether you want to use the health services in Denmark or in Sweden. There is no Danish authority that corresponds to the Swedish Försäkringskassan. Instead your employer, the municipality and Udbetaling Danmark manage your social insurance benefits.

Working in both Denmark and Sweden has consequences for your social insurance.

Find out more in our article: Social insurance when working in both Denmark and Sweden.

If you stop working in Denmark - what happens with your social insurance?

Remember that if you resign from or lose your Danish job, your social insurance goes back to Sweden again.

When you apply for a benefit Försäkringskassan will assess whether you are insured in Sweden before they pay you the benefit, so you don’t have to contact Försäkringskassan unless you are applying for a benefit or if you have children under 16. If you have had child benefit from Denmark, you should notify Udbetaling Danmark as well.

If you have any questions about this, please contact Øresunddirekts Information Center in Malmö.

Protect your SGI when working in Denmark and living in Sweden

When you start working in Denmark, you are normally covered by the Danish social security rules. This means that you are no longer insured in Sweden for sickness benefit, parental benefit and other work-related benefits.

When you subsequently stop working in Denmark and return to the Swedish social insurance system, your Danish income cannot normally be used as sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI) in Sweden. Without an established SGI, you are not entitled to work-related benefits in Sweden, such as sickness benefit or income-based parental benefit.

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Joining a Danish a-kasse fund can protect your SGI

If you are a member of a Danish a-kasse whilst working in Denmark, you can, when your employment ends, transfer your membership to a Swedish a-kasse. If you are subsequently granted unemployment benefit in Sweden, your Danish income will be included in the calculation – and you will thus have a valid SGI based on that income.

The risk of not being socially insured

There are a few situations where you risk falling between the two systems. Our advice is to join an unemployment insurance fund in Denmark whilst you are working there, but unfortunately there is still a risk of not getting an income based insurance.

Example:

• You are pregnant and working in Denmark but are not a member of an a-kasse. If you are made redundant, you may be left without entitlement to parental benefit from either Denmark or based on your income level in Sweden. That is why it is important to be a member of a Danish a-kasse. You can then transfer your membership to a Swedish a-kassa, receive Swedish unemployment benefit and thereby qualify for SGI in Sweden.
  
  
• If you become long-term sick and your entitlement to sickness benefit in Denmark ends, you will be covered by the Swedish social security system as you live in Sweden. However, your previous Danish income cannot be used as the basis for SGI, which may affect your entitlement to Swedish sickness benefit. If you have been a member of a Danish a-kasse, you can transfer your membership to a Swedish one, but to receive unemployment benefit you must be available for work – and you are not normally considered available if you are ill. In such a situation you risk being left without benefit.

Check where you are affiliated

Where you are affiliated can be of great importance for your private finances, so it is important to check which rules apply in your case. If you would like to know where you are affiliated, please contact Försäkringskassan in Sweden in the first instance.

For questions regarding social insurance, please contact the Danish municipality where your place of work is located. For questions regarding child benefit or parental allowance, please contact Udbetaling Danmark - Familieydelser. For questions regarding unemployment insurance, please contact a Danish a-kasse.