Norway: Amendments to the Norwegian National Insurance Act and the Cash Benefit Act

In Norway, parents can select their parental benefit duration based on two options: a 100% benefit rate, providing full income for 49 weeks, or an 80% benefit rate, providing 80% of their income for 59 weeks. Currently, parents who choose the 80% benefit receive a lower total payment compared to the 100% benefit option, which also affects their pension accrual. On 14 May 2024, the Norwegian Government approved an amendment to extend the 80% benefit period by 11 days, making it 61 weeks and 1 day. This amendment ensures that parents who choose the 80% parental benefit will receive eleven additional days of leave, ensuring that the total pay-out for both 80% and 100% parental benefits will be equal. The new amendment of the Norwegian National Insurance Act will apply to children born on or after 1 July 2024.

Additionally, a new amendment has been adopted to the Cash Benefit Act. Under current law, parents can receive cash-for-care benefit for children from the month the child turns 13 months until the month the child turns 23 months. A condition for receiving cash-for-care benefit is that the child does not attend a full-time place in a publicly funded kindergarten. If and when the child attends such a kindergarten, the family will no longer be entitled to cash-for-care benefit starting from the month the child begins kindergarten. Generally, both the parents and the child must reside in Norway to be eligible for cash-for-care benefit. The new amendment shortens the cash-for-care benefit period by lowering the maximum age at which parents are entitled to receive cash-for-care benefits for their child, by reducing the cash-for-care benefit period by four months. The amendment means that the entitlement to cash-for-care benefits will apply from the month the child turns 13 months (as is currently the case) until the month the child turns 19 months.