A-kassa (unemployment insurance)
A-kassa is Sweden's voluntary unemployment insurance, replacing part of your income when you lose your job. You join an a-kassa and pay a small monthly fee. Since October 2025 the benefit is income-based: it is calculated on your former salary up to a ceiling, rather than on how many hours you worked. It protects your SGI while you are registered as a jobseeker.
How much you get
The benefit is calculated on your former income up to a ceiling of 34,000 kr a month (2026), so the highest benefit is 27,200 kr a month before tax. If you have been a member for at least twelve months you start at 80% of your former salary; 6 to 11 months of membership gives 60%, and shorter or no membership gives 50%. The benefit also steps down over time: it falls by 10 percentage points after 100 days, then by a further 5 percentage points for each additional 100-day period.
What it takes to qualify
You must meet an income condition: at least 120,000 kr of income over the past year, with at least 11,000 kr a month in at least four months. How many days you can receive benefit depends on your income history: up to 300 days if you had income in eleven or twelve of the months, fewer otherwise. If you are the guardian of a child under 18 you automatically get 150 extra days. You must also register as a jobseeker with Arbetsförmedlingen and actively look for work.
Short membership and waiting days
There is no separate basic benefit (grundersättning) any more. If you have been a member for less than six months, or not at all, you can still get benefit as long as you meet the income condition, but at 50% of your former income; six to eleven months of membership gives 60%. Each benefit period still starts with 2 waiting days (karensdagar) without pay, the same number as before the reform. To avoid losing your entitlement, register with Arbetsförmedlingen on your first day of unemployment.
On 1 October 2025 a-kassa became income-based. Previously the benefit was built on how many hours you had worked; now it is calculated on your income. The compensation level is now set by how long you have been a member, the benefit steps down over time, and the separate basic benefit disappeared. The 2 waiting days stayed. The ceiling was raised at the same time, so the highest benefit became 27,200 kr a month.
Worked example
Former salary 30,000 kr a month, member for over 12 months: 80% × 30,000 = 24,000 kr a month before tax. Now take someone earning 50,000 kr: the ceiling is 34,000 kr, so the benefit caps at 80% × 34,000 = 27,200 kr. That is a gap of 22,800 kr a month, which is why many supplement a-kassa with an income insurance.
Calculate further
- A-kassa calculator: model your own benefit and step-down
- A-kassa in practice guide: the full picture beyond the numbers
- Your first job guide: why joining early matters