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Welfare in Sweden

Swedish welfare policies

  • 5 min read
  • 4 chapters

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History

The modern Swedish welfare system was preceded by the poor relief organized by the Church of Sweden. This was formalized in the Beggar Law of 1642, and became mandatory in the Civil Code of 1734, when each parish was required to have an almshouse.

This system was changed with the Poor Law of 1847, when the first national poor care system separate from the church was organized: a mandatory public poor care relief fund financed by the public was established in each parish (after 1862 municipality), managed by a public Board of directors for poor relief, and the church was no longer directly involved (though the parish vicar was always to be given a place in the board), transferring the poor care from the church to the state. In the reformed Poor Law of 1871, however, the criteria of whom was eligible to receive benefits was severely restricted to include only orphans, the aged and the invalids, and in parallel, the system was complemented by old customs such as rotegång, child auction, fattigauktion and by private charity (foremost the local Fruntimmers-skyddsförening). This system was in place until 1918.

In the 19th century, private sick benefit societies were started, and in 1891, they became regulated and subsidized. The Liberal Party government passed the National Pension Act in 1913 to provide security for the aged and in 1934 the private unemployment societies were regulated and subsidized in a way similar to the sick benefit societies.

The Poor Care law of 1918 replaced the law of 1871, transformed the old fashion poor care law to a more humane modern social welfare system and abolished a number of old outdated customs, such as rotegång, Child auction and fattigauktion, and transformed the old poor houses to retirement homes. The final transformation of the old poor care system to a modern social welfare system was the Social Help Law of 1956 (Lagen (1956:2) om socialhjälp)

In 1944, free medical exams, inoculations and other services were introduced for all schoolchildren. In 1946, a National Pension Act was introduced that provided that all citizens at the age of 67 would receive (as noted by one study) "the same pension regardless of previous income or taxes paid." The law also provided disability payments and survivor's benefits for wives, husbands and young children, and also established periodic adjustments to changes in living costs.

In 1961 the private sick benefit societies were replaced with county-level public insurance societies who also handled pensions. The independent and mostly union-run unemployment benefit societies has been more centrally regulated and levels are now regulated by the government.

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