The retraining study support is for those who want to further educate themselves within their professional area or learn a new profession. To determine how much retraining support the applicant is entitled to, CSN needs income data from the Insurance Agency.
In July 2025, the average processing time at the Insurance Agency was over two months, 72 days. It is more than twice the waiting time as in July 2024, according to figures from the agency.
In total, it made the total waiting time for decisions from CSN 85 days, according to CSN.
The influx of cases has been clearly higher than what we had expected and what CSN's own forecasts said, says Andreas Stjernberg, head of the business area at the Insurance Agency.
In April, the Insurance Agency received more than five times as many cases regarding retraining support compared to April 2024.
Training takes time
He also points to a previous understaffing at the Insurance Agency and that the training of new staff takes time.
What do you think about the risk that people refrain from re-educating themselves when they do not receive a decision before the start of studies?
We have received these signals from CSN and we are of course not satisfied with them. I wish we had more staff who could handle these cases right now, he says and continues:
At the same time, one should remember that the Insurance Agency only handles the income calculation. It is not us who decide who gets the support or not.
Previously, a lack of staff at CSN has led to the fact that certain retraining study support could not be paid out. The decisions have also been delayed. Since then, CSN has also hired more administrators.
Now we are basically in phase, says Elina Andersson at CSN.
You can apply for regular support
For those who have applied for support but have not received a decision, it is, according to Andersson, an alternative to apply for CSN's regular study support. But retraining study support cannot be combined with other study support, and it is not possible to subsequently receive retraining study support for periods when you have had other study support.
My tip is to always contact us and hear how it is, says Elina Andersson.
The goal is, according to her, that the majority of those who apply for support for the round that starts on October 1 should receive a decision before the start of studies.
Since April 1 this year, more than 20,000 people have applied for retraining support. Approximately 12,750 have received a decision, of which approximately 7,500 have been granted support, according to CSN's figures from August 4.
The retraining study support is for those who want to further educate themselves within their professional area or learn a new profession and are between 27 and 62 years old.
The support can be applied for all Swedish education that gives the right to study grants. It can, for example, be education at universities or colleges, Komvux, folk high school or vocational college.
To be eligible for the support, you must have worked a total of at least eight of the last 14 years and at least twelve of the last 24 months.
The support consists of a grant of up to 80 percent of the salary, up to a maximum amount, and a loan that you can top up with if you want.
The appropriation for retraining study support in 2025 is 4.88 billion kronor and is expected to be enough for 30,000 people.
Source: CSN
