Swedes take a new step in parental leave. Grandparents can now get paid to take care of grandkids

Sweden launched a groundbreaking new law on July 1 that allows grandparents to step in and get paid parental leave while taking care of their grandchildren for up to three months of a child’s first year. The development comes after the Swedish parliament, the 349-seat Riksdag, approved last December the government’s proposal on the transfer of parental allowance. This comes 50 years after the Scandinavian country became the first in the world to introduce paid parental leave for fathers and not just mothers. Under the law, parents can transfer some of their generous parental leave allowance to the child’s grandparents. A parent couple can transfer a maximum of 45 days to others while a single parent can transfer 90 days, according to the Social Insurance Agency, a government agency that administers the social insurance system. This Scandinavian country of 10 million, known for its taxpayer-funded social welfare system, has over generations built a society where citizens are taken care of from cradle to grave. In Sweden, you are entitled to be fully off work when your child is born. Parental benefit is paid out for 480 days, or about 16 months, per child. Of those, the compensation for 390 days is calculated based on a person’s full income, while for the remaining 90 days, people get a fixed amount of 180 kronor ($17) per day. Alexandra Wallin of Sweden’s Social Insurance Agency told Swedish broadcaster SVT the new law will “give greater opportunities.” Still, the rules for grandparents, she said, are the same as for ordinary parental allowance and require a person to be insured for parental allowance, which most people in Sweden are. There are conditions for parental allowance—a retiree can also take parental leave, for example, in which case the compensation is based on the person’s pension. A person may not look for work or study during the time they receive parental allowance. In the central town of Avesta, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of Stockholm, Ritva Kärkkäinen told SVT she is considering taking time off work to care for her grandchildren. This article was provided by The Associated Press.