Benefits and services
Typical situations in which customers contact Kela include childbirth, study, sickness, unemployment and retirement.
Families with children
Parents of a small child are entitled to Maternity, Paternity and Parental Allowances. Assistance is also available towards the cost of adopting a child from abroad. Kela provides a monthly Child Benefit for each child under 17 years of age. Higher rates of Child Benefit apply for single parents. To support the care of small children, Kela provides Home Care and Private Day Care Allowances.
Students
Kela provides students with a Study Grant and a Housing Supplement (both monthly). Study Grant is payable for a wide range of studies, from the upper secondary school to vocational education, right up to higher education. The amount of the Study Grant depends on the student's own income and - in the case of younger students - their parents'income. The student financial aid system also includes student loans guaranteed by the state.
Unemployed persons
Unemployed persons who do not belong to an unemployment fund or who have exhausted their entitlement to fund-provided benefits get basic unemployment benefits from Kela. These are the Basic Unemployment Allowance and the meanstested Labour Market Subsidy. While undergoing labour market training, unemployed persons are eligible for a Training Allowance.
Pensioners
Kela provides national pensions for persons whose retirement pension based on employment or selfemployment is small or non-existent. Besides national pensions, Kela provides the following benefits for pensioners: Housing Allowance for Pensioners, Pensioners' Care Allowance, Child Increase and Front-Veterans' Supplements. These are payable also to persons whom Kela does not pay an actual pension.
Conscripts
Kela provides Conscript's Allowances for persons performing their compulsory military or alternative service and for their spouse and children. Conscript's Allowance is also payable in respect of reasonable housing costs for a permanent dwelling and the interest due on student loans.
Housing benefits
Kela provides a Housing Allowance for persons with low incomes with a view to helping them achieve a reasonable standard of housing. The Housing Allowance covers part of the recipient's housing costs. It is available for both rented and owner-occupied housing. A certain share of the housing costs is payable by the recipient.
Sickness-related benefits
National Health Insurance provides coverage for expenses due to sickness. Patients are free to choose between public and private health services.
Kela reimburses patients, out of the National Health Insurance, for part of the fees charged by doctors in private practice and for part of the diagnostic and treatment charges of private-sector health care providers. Reimbursements are also available for the cost of dental services obtained from the private sector. Further, Kela provides reimbursements for travel expenses exceeding a fixed deductible and for the cost of prescribed medicines.
While unfit for work, insured persons are entitled to a Sickness Allowance that compensates for part of their loss of income. If an incapacitated employee is entitled to sick pay from his or her employer, the Sickness Allowance is paid to the employer.
Persons insured under the Finnish social security system are entitled to medical care during a temporary residence in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland. As proof of entitlement, a European Health Insurance Card – available free of charge from Kela - must be presented.
Disability benefits
Kela provides disabled and chronically ill persons with Disability Allowances and Pensioners' Care Allowances, the purpose of which is to help them to cope better with the challenges of everyday living. The allowances are provided on a graduated scale according to the degree of handicap experienced and the amount of expenses incurred.
Rehabilitation
The purpose of rehabilitation is to preserve and improve the functional status and working capacity of incapacitated or disabled persons and to enhance their quality of life. Kela covers some of the cost of vocational and medical rehabilitation, and provides financial assistance towards other rehabilitation services financed with an annual grant from Parliament. Rehabilitation Allowances are available to provide financial security during participation in rehabilitation.
Benefits for survivors
In the event of the death of a spouse or the father, mother or other provider of a child, statutory survivors' pensions offer financial security for the surviving spouse and children. Survivors' pensions are paid by Kela and the earnings-related pension provider of the deceased, and are also available on the basis of employment accident and motor insurance policies.
Surviving spouses on a small income can also get a Housing Allowance or a Housing Allowance for Pensioners from Kela.
Moving to or from Finland
Insurance under the social security system administered by Kela generally requires a permanent residence in Finland. Persons moving to Finland are considered to be resident in Finland immediately upon arrival provided that their purpose is to make a permanent home in Finland.
Persons who move from Finland are not covered by the Finnish social security system. Persons living abroad on a temporary basis (for up to a year) are considered to be resident in Finland and are covered by the Finnish social security system.
Updated 10/22/12