"There will probably be fewer rejections now"

SVT Nyheter has obtained new figures that show that many people with disabilities lose their compensation from Försäkringskassan.

This is partly about the activity allowance that you can get when you are 19-29 years old. It is also about the sickness benefit that you must apply for when you turn 30.

These are new figures that the Swedish Social Insurance Agency has not previously reported publicly.

Ingeborg Watz Forslund, who is area manager at the Disability Department at Försäkringskassan, confirms this picture.

- Earlier, before 2015, we had almost no rejection at all, she says.

The figures obtained by SVT show that the number of people who get rid of their activity compensation has tripled in two years, between 2016 and 2018. Neither the legislation nor the case law has changed and thus cannot explain the increase. Instead, it is about a changed approach at Försäkringskassan

- We have worked a lot with our investigations and this has also led to more rejections.

A few years ago, the Social Insurance Agency changed the investigations of those applying for activity and sickness compensation. It is clear from the statistics that there was a sharp increase in the rejections then, around 2017. This also meant that many people fell outside the compensation system.

Do you know the problem that so many people feel bad about?

- I know about this problem and it is very sad, says Ingeborg Watz Forslund.

SVT Nyheter's investigation shows that many who have lost their compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency are instead forced to seek social assistance. It will be difficult for some who have a disability because you cannot have any saved money. In addition, you must apply for social assistance monthly and submit receipts and be able to present what you have purchased.

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In order to receive social assistance, you must be at the disposal of the labor market and be able to show that you have applied for different jobs. For a person with, for example, a developmental disorder, who has a daily business, this can be very difficult. It is therefore not uncommon for family members to provide their adult children with a disability. This can also lead to the person having to quit a functioning day-to-day business and instead become passive at home.

But Ingeborg Wat's Forslund does not think it should be wrong that the Social Insurance Office balls over people with a disability to the social service.

- I would like to say that, based on what the law looks like around the activity allowance, it may be that some need to end up with support payments.

But in the past year, two new judgments have been made regarding the activity and sickness compensation. A verdict came in November 2018 and a verdict came recently, in October 2019. And there the Swedish Social Insurance Agency gets a homework.

- They will probably have the effect that there will be slightly fewer rejections, says Ingeborg Watz Forslund.

In the past, the Social Insurance Office has only looked at what a person can do for work. People with disabilities refer to work that is not really available, with extensive guidance and adjustments. But the courts hold that there must be reasonableness in the assessment. An employer must be willing to pay for these tasks as well, the courts believe.

So it should be a job that exists for real?

- There should be a fair amount, but it is still so that the work does not have to be here and now.

In addition, the judges stated that a person who has daily activities should not automatically be considered to be able to perform the same task as an employee.

- It is very clear that daily activities should not be seen as having a work capacity and being able to support yourself.

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency has recently been given a government assignment which means that they must ensure that people do not end up between the chairs. It is about those who get rejected when they apply for activity compensation.

- Together with the municipality and the employment office, we will do our best to pilot so that the individual does not fall between the chairs, says Ingeborg Watz Forslund.

What would you like to change in this system to make it good for the individual?

- I think we need to secure systems that go together. The Social Insurance Office, the municipalities and the Employment Service need to work together. We have different legislation and different assignments. But we need to sew this together.

Do the systems not overlap today?

- Not entirely.

Is there a need to change rules and laws?

- It remains to be seen. We'll see what the judgments mean first.