In recent years, we have found ourselves in high inflation, which has contributed to the fact that the money in the wallet covers less and less as the prices around us increase.
We have seen everything from food prices to fuel rising in cost, which makes it increasingly difficult to get the economy together.
In Sweden, however, there is a large social safety net in the form of various grants that can be applied for. This includes everything from subsistence allowance, social allowance, housing allowance and even dental care allowance.
The latter of them was increased in 2018. Nowadays, the general dental care allowance, also called ATB, has been doubled for those aged 24-29 and all those over 65. This means that it is now possible to receive SEK 600 in dental care allowance for these people.
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The grant is not enough – according to the economist
But it is far from all contributions that are increased when the economy is tight. One of the grants that a certain group of people receives would have to rise by SEK 350 a month.
It is about the child support that is paid to guardians.
Today, child support is SEK 1,250 a month, but according to figures from Länsförsäkringar, this is not enough when inflation affects us all.
Stefan Westerberg works as a private economist at Länsförsäkringar and according to him the contribution loses relevance when it does not keep up with society’s development.
– Child support has been eroded and is losing relevance. Children come with large expenses, such as food, clothes and leisure activities. But since the child support is not protected against inflation, the expenses are increasingly eating into the family’s finances, he says in a press release.
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Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TTPhoto: Isabell Höjman/TTThis is how much your child costs – every year
Having a child means a major change in life, not least for the household’s finances.
Having children costs money, and that in itself is nothing new. But how much does it really cost each year?
According to Länsförsäkringar’s figures, it costs over SEK 189,000 during the child’s first year of life. This is the most expensive year of your child’s first 18 years, according to statistics.
It costs the least when the child is 9 years old – then it costs “only” SEK 97,456.
Overall, a child costs SEK 2,294,922 between the ages of 1 and 18, according to Länsförsäkringar.
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Länsförsäkringar has produced a list of how much it costs to have children, each year. Photo: LänsförsäkringarSo much less you can buy with the child allowance
Previously, the child allowance was SEK 1,050 a month, but in 2018 the government chose to raise it to SEK 1,250 per month and child instead. Since then, however, inflation has been a total of 28 percent and the contribution has remained at the same level.
According to Länsförsäkringar’s figures, this means that around 1.4 million families in Sweden receive a child allowance that has lost purchasing power as it is enough to buy 28 percent less for the child, compared to before.
– In addition to the necessary expenses, there are many parents who also save money for their children for the day when they have to move away from home, such as part of the investment for a first home, a driver’s license or other things that are needed at the beginning of adulthood. And these expenses also strain families’ finances, Westerberg concludes by saying.
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Stefan Westerberg is a private economist at Länsförsäkringar. He believes that the child support has been eroded. Photo: Photographer: Adrian Leopoldson/Pressbild Länsförsäkringar