Financial family policy
Objective: Financial family policy is to contribute to improved conditions for good financial living standards for all families with children.
Direction of policy
The family is the fundamental unit in society. Our security and sense of coherence are established in childhood, in one's own family. Within the family unit, a profound human need can be met: to be seen and be irreplaceable. In a small group such as that formed by a family, the members have the chance to find love, care and understanding, but also to face demands and take responsibility. A modern family policy must recognise that families are different, have different needs and wishes, and are of equal worth.
The Government wants the aim of family policy to be to strengthen parents' power over their lives and increase families' freedom of choice. Family policy should make it easier for parents to combine working life with family life through improving both parents' opportunities to take part in working life and take care of their children when they are small. The conditions for gender equality should be improved. The Government wants to increase families' freedom of choice by reducing national political control.
In addition to financial family policy, measures are also planned in other policy areas that are important to families with children.
Diversity in childcare should be increased by greater variation among service providers. The expertise of the staff should be valued higher and their ideas, commitment and entrepreneurship set free. The educational role of preschool should be strengthened in pace with the development of the children so as to make use of their natural curiosity and their desire to learn.
The Government is currently planning the implementation of a family policy reform. The core points of the reform are a childcare voucher system, a gender equality bonus, a voluntary municipal child-raising allowance and increased educational content in preschool.
The scope of the policy
The financial family policy area is divided into three spheres of activity: insurance, means-tested allowances and universal allowances.
The insurance sphere includes parental insurance, child's pension, child survivor's benefit and pension rights for childcare years. The means-tested allowances sphere includes housing allowance, maintenance support and care allowance for disabled children. The universal allowances sphere includes child allowance and adoption allowance.
Agencies and other bodies
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency is responsible for administration of social insurance.
