Parental top-up via Swedish kollektivavtal
This guide is about föräldralön, the top-up your employer pays on top of Försäkringskassan's parental benefit. Depending on the agreement, it's also called föräldrapenningtillägg, FPT, or simply kollektivavtalstillägg. The rules live in your collective agreement (kollektivavtal) or in a separate employer policy, not at Försäkringskassan.
If your salary is below the SGI cap, the top-up adds around 10 % on top of Försäkringskassan's payout. If your salary is above the cap, the top-up is often the single biggest item during leave, because Försäkringskassan stops scaling at the cap and the top-up picks up where it leaves off.
How the top-up is built
A common example, especially in white-collar agreements, is for the employer to pay about 10 % of salary below the SGI cap and up to 90 % of salary above the cap. Blue-collar agreements often look different, sometimes as a flat top-up via AFA Försäkring's föräldrapenningtillägg (FPT). Either way, the aim is to keep total compensation close to your usual salary for a limited period. Försäkringskassan pays 77.6 % of SGI up to the SGI cap (592,000 SEK/year in 2026), but nothing on salary above it. Combined, if you claim parental benefit every calendar day (seven days a week), you usually land around 87 % of monthly salary below the cap and roughly 90 % above it. Claiming only five days a week lowers the total, because Försäkringskassan only pays for the days you actually claim — the calculator uses your exact days. The exact figures also vary by agreement, so confirm with HR or read your specific kollektivavtal.
How long it's paid
A common period is 6 months per child, but it varies. Some agreements pay for longer, others shorter. Some require the months to be taken in one continuous block, others let you split them up. Usually it's calculated per parent, not per family, so both can claim their share if both are covered by kollektivavtal at their respective employers.
What to check with HR
Before planning your leave, ask HR (or read the agreement) about four things: (1) how long the top-up runs and at what claim level, (2) whether you need a minimum tenure to qualify (usually between 6 months and 2 years), (3) whether partial leave (deltidsuttag) scales the top-up proportionally, and (4) how it's paid out, since some agreements pay monthly during leave and others as a lump sum after return. These four points decide whether your plan holds.
Frequently asked questions
Depending on the agreement it's called föräldralön, föräldrapenningtillägg, FPT, or kollektivavtalstillägg. Same mechanic, different labels. Search any of those terms in the agreement text or in your HR portal.
Qualification periods vary, usually between 6 months and 2 years of continuous employment. Unionen uses a sliding scale: at least 12 months for any top-up, typically 2 years for the full 6-month period. For blue-collar workers the top-up is often handled via AFA Försäkring's föräldrapenningtillägg (FPT), with its own qualification rules. Probationary or fixed-term contracts can have different rules. Check with HR before counting on the top-up in your plan.
Then there's no automatic top-up. Some employers without a collective agreement still offer an equivalent top-up as a policy, but it isn't something you can demand. With no agreement and no policy, Försäkringskassan's parental benefit is the only income base during leave.
Yes. It's salary from your employer and taxed like normal salary, with regular municipal tax and any applicable state tax. It appears on a pay slip, not on the Försäkringskassan statement.
Not during the leave itself, because SGI is already fixed when the leave starts. In future SGI recalculations, the top-up counts as regular salary, since it is salary from your employer and taxed as such. It also counts as pension-qualifying income (PGI), so it builds your future state pension the same way regular salary does.