The general social security benefit is a new form of financial assistance that the Government plans to introduce to the Finnish social security system. The new benefit will combine several existing benefits into one single benefit.

In the first phase, the plan is for the general social security benefit to replace the existing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance in 2026. This means that labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance will be abolished when the general social security benefit is implemented.

The general social security benefit will be paid to unemployed jobseekers who do not qualify for or have temporarily used up their earnings-related unemployment allowance.

The intention is for the general social security benefit to expand to cover other benefits, such as housing benefits, in phases.

The Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government lists the introduction of a general social security benefit as part of its planned reform of the Finnish social security system. The reform aims to create a general social security benefit that would include a basic allowance for living costs, an allowance for housing costs and a discretionary allowance as last-resort social security.

The goal for introducing the general social security benefit is to simplify and clarify the Finnish social security system and to provide better incentives for the unemployed to seek and retain employment.

Parliament will review the legislative aspects of the general social security benefit in autumn 2025. If Parliament approves the government proposal on a general social security benefit that will be paid on account of unemployment, the general social security benefit will replace the existing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance, and Kela will begin to pay it to the unemployed in early 2026. The exact schedule will be confirmed once Parliament has approved the legislative proposal.

Kela will keep its Unemployment page up-to-date with information on how the unemployed will be affected by the change up until the general social security benefit is implemented.

Yes. If you are paid labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance when the general social security benefit is implemented, you will automatically be transferred under the general social security benefit. You do not have to take any action. Kela will provide information on the general social security benefit on its Unemployment page and provide instructions on how to apply for it in the OmaKela e-service.

The basic amount of the general social security benefit is EUR 37.21 per day (about EUR 800 per month). It corresponds to the amount paid in labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance in 2025.

 However, the general social security benefit is a means-tested benefit. Read on to learn what it means in practice.

The general social security benefit being a means-tested benefit means that the applicant’s income affects the amount of benefit they can be paid. The means test that will be applied to the new benefit is similar to the one currently used for labour market subsidy.

Savings or assets, such as the applicant’s car or their house or apartment, do not affect the amount of general social security benefit they can get.

The income limit that applies to the means test is EUR 311 per month. You can have income up to this income limit without it affecting your benefit.

If you are paid more than EUR 311 per month in capital income or other income that is not earned income, half of this amount will be deducted from the general social security benefit.

The following types of income can reduce the amount of general social security benefit you can get:

• capital income, such as
  • rental income
  • dividends
  • interest income
  • profit on a sale
     
• other income that is not earned income, such as
  • informal care allowance
  • compensations for family caregivers
  • copyright royalties
  • partial early old-age pension.

Some benefits do not affect how much general social security benefit you can get. They include, for example, child benefit, child support, social assistance, housing allowance and disability allowance.

If you live with your parents, their income may also affect your general social security benefit.

However, if your parents’ combined income does not exceed EUR 2,500 per month, your general social security benefit will not be affected. Each child under 18 who lives with your parents and is under their care increases this income limit by EUR 106 per month.

If your parents’ combined monthly income exceeds EUR 2,500, half of the amount that exceeds the threshold of EUR 2,500 will be deducted from the general social security benefit paid to you. However, you will always be paid at least 35% of the general social security benefit.

Yes, you can. If you are paid wages or a salary, the general social security benefit will be adjusted to take your earned income into account. This is also currently the case with unemployment benefits.

The adjustment means that your general social security benefit will gradually decrease as your income grows. If you work part-time while you are unemployed, the wages or salary you are paid will not be fully deducted from your general social security benefit. Only half of the gross wages or salary you are paid will be deducted.

For example, if you earn EUR 1,000 per month, EUR 500 will be deducted from your general social security benefit. Even with the deduction, your total income still increases by EUR 500.

A long period of unemployment will trigger an activation period. During the activation period, employment services will organise in-person job search discussions for you and assess what specific services you need. The goal is to prevent social exclusion and to help you find employment or suitable education or training.

If you are under 25, the activation period will begin once you have been unemployed for eight months. If you are 25 or over, the activation period will trigger after 18 months of unemployment.

Social assistance is a form of financial assistance that is granted as a last resort. You can apply for social assistance if all of your other income, assets and benefits are not enough to cover your essential daily expenses. As social assistance is a last-resort benefit, you must first apply for all other benefits you may qualify for, such as earnings-related unemployment allowance, the general social security benefit and housing benefits.

The general social security benefit, on the other hand, will be paid on account of unemployment to unemployed jobseekers who do not qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance. The general social security benefit will be paid only to unemployed jobseekers who have registered as such.

If you are under 25 and unemployed, and you do not have vocational qualifications or a higher education degree, you will qualify for the general social security benefit only if you apply for a place of study in the spring. The same requirement currently applies to unemployment benefits. You can read more about the requirement on our page for unemployment benefits.

In addition, a qualifying period of 21 weeks (about five months) will apply to your general social security benefit as it now does to the labour market subsidy.

If you are under 18 and unemployed, you can be paid general social security benefit in these cases:

You are 17 and you have completed a vocational qualification.

You are 17, you have graduated from upper secondary school and you participate in employment promoting services.

You cannot be paid the general social security benefit if you are under 17.

If you do not have vocational qualifications or a higher education degree, you must complete a qualifying period of 21 weeks (about five months) before you can be paid the general social security benefit. The same requirement currently applies to the labour market subsidy. The qualifying period applies to jobseekers of all ages.

You may qualify for the general social security benefit if you stop your self-employment. The employment services of your municipality (Job Market Finland) and the KEHA Centre (in Finnish or Swedish) will assess your situation and issue a statement on it to Kela.

You can also be paid the general social security benefit if you are self-employed on a part-time basis. However, the KEHA Centre must first assess whether you are self-employed on a full-time or part-time basis. If the KEHA Centre considers you to be self-employed on a full-time basis, you cannot be paid the general social security benefit.

If you start a business while you are unemployed, Kela can pay you the general social security benefit for a period of four months. In such case, the general social security benefit will be adjusted to take into account the income you get from your self-employment over the same period. After four months, the KEHA Centre will assess whether you are self-employed on a full-time or part-time basis. If your self-employment is considered to be full-time, you can no longer be paid the general social security benefit.

You can apply for the general social security benefit in early 2026. The exact schedule will be confirmed once Parliament has approved the legislative proposal.

The general social security benefit is granted and paid by Kela, and you can apply for it in the OmaKela e-service. You apply for the general social security benefit retroactively as is also the case for the existing unemployment benefits.

The general social security benefit and Kela’s single application model are not the same thing.

The general social security benefit combines various social security benefits together. The single application model, on the other hand, simplifies the benefit application process.

The concept of a single benefit application model is included in Petteri Orpo’s Government Programme. The model enables Kela’s customers to apply for several benefits with a single application.

Kela will introduce a combined application for housing allowance and unemployment benefits as the first phase of the adoption of the single application model. The goal of the combined application is to streamline customer service and to reduce the amount of effort needed to apply for benefits.

The application form will be automatically completed with data that Kela has access to. The customer will only need to fill in essential information. In the future, the combined application can be used to apply for other benefits as well.

Kela intends to adopt the combined application for housing allowance and unemployment benefits when the general social security benefit is implemented or before.

You do not have to do anything as you cannot apply for the general social security benefit yet. The legislative proposal concerning the general social security benefit is currently being circulated for comments. Parliament will review it in autumn 2025. Kela will keep its Unemployment page up-to-date with information on how the unemployed will be affected by the change up until the general social security benefit is implemented.