Amount and payment of the interest assistance
Under the interest assistance scheme, Kela pays
- the interest due on student loans
- the notification costs charged by the bank.
You need not pay them back to Kela. If you make interest payments after the due date, you will have to pay any late charges yourself. They are not covered by interest assistance.
Kela pays all interests and expenses accrued during the six-month interest payment period at once. The interest payable in the first half of the year (January-June) concerns the interest payment period from 16 December to 15 June, and the interest payable in the latter half of the year (July-December) concerns the interest payment period from 16 June to 15 December.
You can get interest assistance for a maximum of five interest payment periods.
Kela can pay the interest assistance either to you or to the bank
If you have already paid the interest to your bank, Kela will pay the interest assistance to you. If you have not yet paid the interest, you can ask Kela to pay the interest assistance directly to the bank.