All residents in Sweden are covered by national health insurance. If a person is ill, or must stay home to care for sick children, he/she receives a taxable daily allowance, 65-90% of lost income, depending on the length of the absence. The patient is charged a fee for medical consultations and any drugs prescribed. The county councils, together with the health insurance system, then pay most of the hospitalisation costs and laboratory fees.

When a child is born, the parents are legally entitled to a total of twelve months paid leave from work, which can be shared between them and used any time before the child's 8th birthday. They also receive a tax-free child allowance, equal for everyone, until the child's 16th birthday. Children who then continue their education are entitled to study allowances. At university level these consist chiefly of repayable loans. Municipalities provide children with day care and after-school activities at subsidised rates. Under certain conditions, low-income families and pensioners are eligible for housing allowances. A basic old-age pension, financed by both employees and employers, is payable to everyone from the age of 65. The State also pays an income-related supplementary pension financed from employer payroll fees. These two inflation-linked pensions are designed to provide two-thirds of a pensioner's average real earnings during his 15 best-paid years.