This article explains what SGI is, when you are entitled to it and how you can protect it.

SGI means qualifying income for sickness benefit is a benefit paid by Försäkringskassan if, for example, you fall ill or go on parental leave. The amount you receive is determined by Försäkringskassan and is based on your annual income and working hours. If you do not have an SGI, you may not receive any or a lower benefit - so it is important to keep track of it!

To be entitled to Sickness Benefit Income, you must:

- Earn or expect to earn at least SEK 11 424 per year
- Have worked or are expected to work for at least 6 consecutive months, or have recurring periods of work each year.

Your SGI is based on your annual income, but it is not always calculated according to your *total* income. This is because of two things. Firstly, SGI is based on your annual income that you have earned through work, and not other income. For example, if you have a student grant, unemployment benefit or similar, it is not included in your SGI, but is based solely on the income you have earned through work.

The second reason is that there is a ceiling (maximum amount) on how high your SGI can be. SGI is your monthly salary multiplied by 12. If you earn less than Försäkringskassan's maximum annual amount, your SGI will be equal to your annual income. If you earn sea than the maximum amount per year, the Försäkringskassan maximum amount becomes your SGI. This is because income above the Försäkringskassan maximum amount cannot be taken into account.

There is a maximum amount for your SGI, and this amount varies for different benefits. If your income is higher than the maximum amount, you will not receive 80% of your income as compensation, but instead 80% of your SGI.

At most, you can get 80% off:
- 476 000 in parental allowance
- 357,000 in compensation for maternity leave
- SEK 380 800 in compensation for sickness benefit

Student or unemployed
If you are a student or unemployed, your SGI can be calculated on your *previous income*. However, if you have never had an income and/or are not entitled to SGI, you can still receive parental benefit when you are on parental leave. In this case, you will receive an allowance of SEK 250 per day. If you have SGI, you will instead receive parental benefit calculated on that basis.

Protect your SGI

You can lose your SGI if you stop working and no longer have an income. This means that you are not entitled to compensation if, for example, you fall ill or need to take maternity leave. However, there are exceptions that allow you to protect and keep your SGI even if you stop working.

Your qualifying income for sickness benefit is protected if:
- You fall ill and receive sickness benefit or sick pay.
- As a pregnant woman, you reduce your working hours or stop working during the last 6 months of your pregnancy.
- You are on full or partial parental leave, whether or not you are taking parental benefit.
- You become unemployed from a job that has entitled you to SGI. Your SGI is then protected for three months after you stop working. This applies if you register with the Public Employment Service and actively look for work.
- You participate in a labor market policy program and receive activity support, development benefit or establishment benefit.
- You receive compensation through a social security contract to study, do a traineeship or start your own business.

When your child is 1 year old
If you are on full-time parental leave, you can protect your SGI by taking at least five parental benefit days per week. If you are on partial parental leave, you can protect your SGI by taking parental benefit for the time you do not work. Overall, it should be comparable to the SGI you have. It is important to remember to protect your SGI when the child is one year old. If you don't, it will be recalculated to your current income, and if you work less than before the parental leave, it will be reduced.

Tips from Försäkringskassan on how to protect your SGI

- If your SGI is full-time and you reduce your working hours by half from full-time to half-time, you must take at least two and a half days of parental benefit per week.
- If your SGI is full-time and you reduce your working hours by a quarter from full-time to 75%, you must take one and a quarter days of parental benefit per week.
- If your SGI is half-time and you reduce your working hours by half from 50% to 25%, you must take at least two and a half days of parental benefit per week.

Tips! On the Försäkringskassan website you can fill in a SGI guide where you can calculate your SGI based on your daily activity and situation and get tips on how to protect it.