PhD and benefits
If you are unemployed after completing a PhD, you may be eligible for benefits in many cases. Your PhD salary determines your benefit rate. Typically, your PhD salary will be high enough for you to be eligible for the highest benefit rate.
If you have been a member for at least one year
If you have been a member of CA for at least 1 year, you are eligible for benefits the day after completing your PhD.
To claim benefits, your total income during the past three years must have amounted to at least DKK 254,328. Only income during membership periods can be included.
If you have received benefits within the past 3 years, you must satisfy an hour requirement instead. This means that you must have worked at least 1,924 hours before you are eligible for benefits. This corresponds to 1 year of full-time work.
You have not been a member for at least one year
If you have been a member for less than 1 year when completing your PhD, the earliest you will be eligible for benefits is after 1 month. You must apply for membership as a new graduate within 14 days after completing your PhD.
In that case, you will only be entitled to the reduced benefit rate for new graduates. Therefore, it's a good idea to join CA while you are still in your PhD programme.
When has a PhD been completed?
Your PhD will be completed when:
- You have defended your PhD thesis
or - You have received your PhD certificate
If you want to apply for benefits before your PhD has been completed
If you apply for benefits because you are no longer receiving a salary in your PhD programme, you must:
- have been delisted from your place of study
- be a jobseeker and satisfy the requirements of availability to the labour market
- satisfy the income requirement described above
- have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least 1 year
You are allowed to be writing your PhD thesis while receiving benefits, but if you re-matriculate into the place of study, you will no longer be eligible for benefits as from that day. You will only become eligible for benefits again when you have handed in your thesis.