How to claim pregnancy allowance

You cannot claim the allowance until you have received a certificate of pregnancy.

1. Use the parental allowance application available in the OmaKela e-service to claim pregnancy allowance. Please note that our e-service is only available in Finnish and Swedish.
2. To complete the application, you need to know the start and end dates of the pregnancy allowance. Use the online calculator for pregnancy and parental allowance days to plan the timing of your leaves (in Finnish).
3. Enclose a certificate of pregnancy indicating that the pregnancy has lasted 154 days. The certificate can be obtained from your doctor or from the maternity and child health clinic.

   • Send the certificate using the OmaKela e-service. You can scan the certificate or take a picture of it.
   • If you have already submitted the certificate when claiming maternity grant, it is not necessary to submit it again.
4. The amount of the pregnancy allowance is based on your income. Please note:
   Your allowance is calculated on the basis of annual income. Kela usually receives the necessary information from the national incomes register and the insurance providers, so this information need not be reported to Kela separately. Read more about annual income.

   • If you have already received special pregnancy allowance during the same pregnancy, the pregnancy allowance will be calculated on the basis of the same income as the earlier allowance.
   • If your employer pays you a salary during your pregnancy leave, indicate the salary period in your application. The pregnancy allowance is paid to your employer for that period, and your employer must submit a separate application to Kela.
   • If the expected due date of your child comes before your second-youngest child is 3 years old, and you claim for allowance based on the same income as last time, you need not state that in your claim. The information will be available to Kela automatically when dealing with your application.
5. If you are not married to the child's other parent, the application asks if the child’s parentage has been acknowledged. The acknowledgement of parentage has an effect on the parental allowance for both parents, so you should give it careful consideration before completing the application.
6. You can use the same application to claim parental allowance.
7. Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. You can also see possible reminders concerning, for instance, any documents missing from your application. A written decision on your claim will be sent to you by post.

You can also submit applications for maternity grant and child benefit in OmaKela.

Alternatively you can complete and print out the form Application for parental benefits (SV 15e, pdf). You can use the same form to claim pregnancy allowance, parental allowance and maternity grant. Send your application along with a copy of the certificate of pregnancy to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

When to claim

You can claim pregnancy allowance as soon as you have received a certificate of pregnancy from your doctor or from a maternity and child health clinic. To allow your annual income to be confirmed, you should submit your application about one month before you start your pregnancy leave. However, claim the allowance at the latest within 2 months of the start of the pregnancy leave.

Remember to inform your employer of your leave and about how long you will be on leave no later than 2 months before you start your leave. Ask your employer how to provide this information.

When can you expect a decision on your application?

The earliest that you can get a decision on your application is the month preceding the payment of pregnancy allowance, once the amount of your annual income has been confirmed. The allowance can also be based on the income that a previous parental allowance was based on. In that case as well, your application cannot be decided until the reference period has ended. Kela will check which way of calculating the allowance will get you a bigger allowance. The allowance is automatically granted according to the manner that is more favourable for you.

If the pregnancy leave is a fully or partially paid leave of absence, Kela cannot issue a decision on the pregnancy allowance until the employer has claimed the allowance for the paid period. It is possible that your employer cannot provide this information in advance until it has paid you a salary for your leave. This means that you could already be on pregnancy leave before you get a decision from Kela about the pregnancy allowance.

Report changes in your circumstances

Remember to report any changes in circumstances to Kela so that the allowance can be paid correctly. Eligibility for pregnancy allowance can be affected by such things as going to work during the leave.

You can report changes in the OmaKela e-service, by phone or by visiting a Kela service point.

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