60-year-old Klas Hertzman-Ericson tells of a rough summer due to long processing times at the Social Insurance Agency. And he is one of many that TV4 Nyheterna has been in contact with, who testify to the same thing.
After being on sick leave due to burnout in recent years, Klas Hertzman-Ericson has now gone without compensation for several months.
– I think it feels awful. You feel powerless, he says.
“Hard work financially”
After a rejection in April due to insufficient certificates from his doctor, and a review of the decision that can only be handled in September, Klas is worried about how life will come together.
– It is difficult financially. I have had some savings, but now I get help from my parents. I can’t even afford to pay my accommodation.
In June, Klas was one of almost 800 people in the queue for a decision on sickness benefits, with an average waiting time of over three months.
Want more resources for the authority
With two million processing hours too few per year, Försäkringskassan believes that the authority has too few resources and too few employees to be able to keep up with its mission.
– We have reduced the workforce by 1,700 people in one year, and of course that has consequences. We need more resources to be able to hire more people, says Försäkringskassan’s Director General Nils Öberg, and continues:
– Then we need to be given the opportunity to develop the business, but even that requires resources.
The government: “Have added funds”
Social Security Minister Anna Tenje believes, however, that Försäkringskassan has already received an increased grant from the government, and that the next budget will be announced in September.
– It is worrying when the processing times go away and when they increase. But the government has added funds to Försäkringskassan in the 2024 budget, and again in the spring amendment budget. And now the negotiations regarding the budget for 2025 are underway.
But for Klas Hertzman-Ericson, it is little consolation in this context.
– People who have worked all their lives and paid taxes will have to wait for five to seven months to get the money they are actually entitled to… You can’t help getting sick, he says.