– Disabled people are very unlikely to try to work in addition, because they then receive very large cuts in their disability benefits. We want to motivate disabled people to work as much as they can and are able to. Then I have to make sure that they sit with a little more of their salary. That’s according to the 1st deputy head of Høgre, Henrik Asheim. The annual free amount is currently NOK 47,000. In the government’s (Labour Party and Center Party) proposal for next year’s state budget, there is no plan to make it more profitable for the disabled to work. On Thursday, Høgre will present its alternative proposal for the state budget for 2024. There, the party proposes a change in the rules for how much disability benefits are cut when you have a paid job on the side. Høgre believes that with their proposal, the disabled will be able to keep up to several tens of thousands of kroner more from their annual social security than today. – We propose to make the scheme better, and nobody gets a worse solution than they have today, says Asheim. The Socialist Left Party (SV) and Raudt go further. They will let the disabled keep more than NOK 118,000 of gross annual salary without losing social security – around NOK 70,000 more than they do today. Facts about free amounts and reductions in social security Today, the scheme is as follows: The basic amount (abbreviated 1 G) is a number that is the basis for many of the payments from Nav. It is adjusted annually, and in 2023 it is NOK 118,620. During one calendar year, a disabled person can earn NOK 47,448 (i.e. 0.4 G) without consequences for the payment of disability benefits. This is called a free amount. When the income exceeds the free amount of 0.4 G, the disability benefit is reduced (truncated) according to established rules. How big the reduction will be is calculated individually, and varies from person to person. Høgre proposes in its alternative state budget: They will retain the free amount of 0.4 G. They will also introduce a halved social security deduction for wages between 0.4 G (NOK 47,448) and 1.2 G (NOK 143,344). What this will mean for each individual disability benefit depends on a complex individual calculation. Høgre estimates up to “several tens of thousands of kroner”. SV and Raudt have proposed: To increase the free amount from 0.4 G to 1.0 G. This means that the disabled would have been allowed to keep NOK 118,620 of their gross salary, i.e. around NOK 70,000 more than they are allowed to keep today. Henrik Asheim met Guri Anne Egge this winter. She experienced that Nav demanded back the disability benefits she had received for the last few months before she was able to start full time work. Photo: Synne Sørenes / news Unreasonable consequences There are over 360,000 Norwegians who are partially or completely on disability benefits. This amounts to approx. 10.5 percent of people of working age. The parties in the Storting were quite unanimous when news this winter revealed various unreasonable financial consequences of disabled people even if they work. A large majority of the party demanded that such results be corrected in today’s regulations. – Very happy Bergen Guri Anne Egge was one of those news met this winter. She was previously on disability insurance, now working at Medvind Assistance. She is also regional manager of Norway’s Handikapforbund Sørwest. She welcomes the fact that the political parties are “competing” to give the disabled better economic conditions. – We are very happy that this has come up and is being discussed. It’s something I’ve been waiting a long time for. We are positive about all changes that go in the right direction. She says the wish is for the free amount to be increased as SV and Raudt have proposed. – We notice a positive change in working life, where there is more focus on employing people who are not quite A4. That is why we now need a wholesome policy that supports this, she says. Guri Anne Egge is happy that there is political will to make it more favorable for disabled people to work on the social security side. Photo: Synnøve Astrid Malt / news Will cost the state NOK 616 million annually According to the party itself, the price tag for Høgre’s proposal is NOK 616 million a year. Since the proposal will only apply for half the year in 2024, the extra expenses for the state that year will be around NOK 307 million, according to Høgre. – How are they going to save up the 616 million? – For example, by not giving Norwegian workers holiday pay the year after being unemployed on unemployment benefits. And we keep the qualifying year for employment verification money (AAP), so that the scheme gains momentum and people are cleared more quickly, says Asheim. He emphasizes that it will still pay to work, but the question is how much it will pay. – It must be more lucrative than today. Henrik Asheim (H) says that many disabled people today stop working when they have reached the allowance limit. Photo: Javad Parsa / NT Labor Party: – Today’s rules are good Labor and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) responds in writing to news. – Everyone who can and wants to can work, and it must always pay off. I believe that the current rules generally work well. She writes that she “welcomes broad agreement on work-oriented welfare schemes, because we are completely dependent on more hands and heads at work.” – I am glad that Høgre also realizes the value of the work line. At the same time, I hope they abandon old ideas such as introducing qualifying years for people who are in the process of being cleared for work. Nobody gets healthier by becoming poorer. Egge thinks the same: – A grace period for people at AAP is completely disastrous for those affected. Pure madness. If that is the consequence of increasing the free amount, it is almost as if they are better left alone. The government will consider change Brenna does not answer specifically why the government does not propose changes to the discretionary amount limit in the 2024 budget. – I have always been aware that if the system stands in the way of whether it pays to work, I have to see if adjustments are necessary. Soon I will send out an assignment to get various aspects of the rules for combining disability benefits and work, among other things related to increasing the free amount, Brenna writes. Labor and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) believes that the current rules work well. Photo: William Jobling / news – To Tonje Brenna, I would like to say that many years have passed and very little has happened. Now I would strongly encourage you to get started with the work, says Guri Anne Egge. – Talk to those concerned and listen to them. We are up and we are ready to work. – It is entirely possible to think about a line of work, but still have welfare benefits “that you don’t starve to death”, says Egge. news corrects: Previously, it was stated in figures how much more disabled people could keep from their salary. This was based on a misunderstanding, because the calculation is different for each individual disability benefit. It is 23 November at 10.36.
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– It must become more lucrative – news Vestland
