The housing benefits available for students will change in August when students will be transferred under the student housing supplement scheme. Unlike general housing allowance, the housing supplement for students cannot be paid directly to the landlord.

Housing benefits for students are about to change – what should landlords know about the reform?

It is a good idea to handle Kela-related matters in our e-service My Kela or by phone also in summer. The opening hours of many of Kela’s customer service points will change for the summer.

Summer means changes to the opening hours of Kela’s customer service points

Kela launched a Customer Community in 2024. The members of the community contribute to the development of Kela’s services by taking part in various surveys and studies. In April’s Customer Community survey we ask about the members’ experiences with using the OmaKela e-service and how we should develop our e-services.

Tell us about your experiences with using OmaKela – join Kela’s Customer Community and fill out our survey

Parliament has decided on expanded Kela reimbursement for private healthcare costs from 1 May 2025 onwards. The expansion affects physiotherapy, dental care and gynaecological examinations and treatment.

Kela reimbursement to be introduced for physiotherapy – reimbursements for dental care and gynaecologists' fees to be increased

The most common reason for the rejection of an application for social assistance is that the applicant's income exceeds the criteria for social assistance. Another common reason is that the customer has not submitted the supporting documents, such as bank statements, that Kela needs to process their application despite requests to do so.

Kela receives more applications for basic social assistance than previously – One in four applicants fails to meet criteria

Kela’s new strategic vision for the future describes how Kela aims to develop its services and operations over a ten-year period. Digital services with a focus on different life situations are highlighted in the goals.

Kela’s strategic vision for the future influences management and development of social security services

Parliament has approved a number of changes in the calculation formula for sickness and rehabilitation allowances. Following the changes, more recipients will have their allowances calculated at the lower earnings replacement rate. The allowances will be reduced by a little under EUR 13 on average. However, the allowances paid to recipients with the lowest incomes will remain unchanged. The new formula will also affect the amount of the partial sickness allowance. 

New calculation formula for sickness and rehabilitation allowances to be introduced on 1 January 2025 – allowances for the lowest-income recipients will not be affected

Customers who log in to OmaKela will be prompted to enable Suomi.fi messages

Most students in higher education may not be able to get housing benefits in August. However, if you qualify for a student loan, you can start drawing down your student loan for the autumn term at the beginning of August to help you with your housing costs. Some students may also benefit from applying for student financial aid for the summer months.

Many students left without housing benefits in August – student loan may help

Lasse Lehtonen began his term as Kela’s Director General at the beginning of June.

Lasse Lehtonen begins term as Kela’s Director General

Social assistance is a last-resort form of financial aid, which is affected by all the income and assets available to the applicants and their families, including tax refunds. Most customers will receive their tax refund in August or September.

Tax refunds may affect social assistance

In 2024, approximately 35,000 students exceeded their income limit for student financial aid. These students have until the end of April to pay back financial aid they received in 2024 if they want to avoid the recovery process that will add a 7.5% increase to the amount they owe Kela.

Approximately 35,000 students exceeded their income limit for student financial aid in 2024 – overpaid student financial aid can be paid back voluntarily before the end of April

A new pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare starts on 1 September 2025. During the pilot study, persons aged 65 or over can see a private general practitioner and only have to pay up to the price of the local user fee charged by public healthcare providers. This price applies if the doctor is participating in the pilot study. The pilot study will affect more than 20% of the total population in Finland.

Are you 65 or older? – See a private general practitioner at the price of a public one starting in September

Foreign wild-berry pickers from outside the EU who come to Finland to work are now regarded as seasonal workers, which gives them better access to public health services. In addition to a residence permit for seasonal work, they must also apply for the right to seek medical treatment in Finland.

Wild-berry pickers coming to Finland must apply for a seasonal work permit and the right to medical treatment

Parents who receive private day care allowance payments must notify Kela of any changes in their child care arrangements during the summer or early autumn. Such changes may be relevant to the payment of the allowance. The notification can be made conveniently in the OmaKela e-service.

Do you get private day care allowance? Notify Kela of changes in the care arrangements for the summer

Kela is changing the criteria for granting urgent basic social assistance as of April. Under the changed criteria, vouchers will be granted more often for customers' most urgent needs, such as food and medicine, while the rest of the customer’s application will be processed within the standard processing time.

Urgent social assistance soon to be granted only for essential expenses such as food and medicine

Kela will expand the reimbursements for certain private healthcare costs as of 1 May 2025. Specifically, this applies to reimbursements for fertility treatments, physiotherapy, oral healthcare and gynaecological treatments.

Kela reimbursements for certain private healthcare costs to be expanded at the beginning of May

Kela will begin sending alerts to Suomi.fi Messages. Customers will be notified of new decisions or letters issued by Kela via the Suomi.fi e-service if they have activated Suomi.fi Messages and opted out of paper mail in the OmaKela e-service. Opting out of paper mail saves public funds.

Kela to implement Suomi.fi Messages – 1.3 million Kela customers have opted out of receiving paper mail from Kela

Kela has released the 2025 edition of the maternity package. As usual, we have taken customer feedback into consideration and revised the contents of the new maternity package by introducing more durable products that can be used longer.

The 2025 edition of the maternity package is here – Kela revises the contents of the maternity package based on customer feedback

Kela’s customer service points will again take into use an instant interpretation service. When needed, Kela’s partner organisation or customer service specialist can book a telephone appointment with interpretation for the customer.

Customers who speak foreign languages can contact Kela through instant interpretation or public service interpreting

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<p>Try navigating from the home page or try writing the keywords of the subject matter into the Search box.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.kela.fi/give-feedback" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Give us feedback</a></p>

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<h1>Pahoittelut, sivua ei löytynyt!</h1>

<p>Etsimääsi sivua ei valitettavasti löytynyt. Varmistathan, että kirjoitit osoitteen oikein. Sivu on saatettu myös siirtää tai poistaa.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Voit etsiä sisältöä navigoimalla <a href="https://www.kela.fi">etusivulta</a> tai käyttämällä <a href="https://www.kela.fi/haku">hakua</a>.</li>
	<li>Voit ottaa yhteyttä<a href="https://www.kela.fi/asiakaspalvelu"> asiakaspalveluumme</a>.</li>
	<li>Voit <a href="https://www.kela.fi/anna-palautetta">antaa palautetta</a> verkkosivuista.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Tyvärr kunde sidan inte hittas!</h2>

<p>Sidan som du sökte finns inte. Kontrollera att adressen är korrekt. Sidan kan ha flyttats eller avlägsnats.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Gå till <a href="https://www.fpa.fi/">ingångssidan</a> och sök efter önskat ämne genom att navigera i tjänsten eller med hjälp av <a href="https://www.kela.fi/sok">Sök</a>-funktionen.</li>
	<li>Ring <a href="https://www.kela.fi/kundservice">FPA:s kundtjänst</a>.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.kela.fi/ge-respons">Ge respons</a>.</li>
</ul>

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<p>The page you were looking for was not found. Please re-check the page address. The page may have been relocated or removed.</p>

<ul>
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	<li>Call <a href="https://www.kela.fi/customer-service">Kela's customer service</a>.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.kela.fi/give-feedback">Give us feedback</a>.</li>
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<h2>Tyvärr kunde sidan inte hittas!</h2>

<p>Sidan som du sökte finns inte. Kontrollera att adressen är korrekt. Sidan kan ha flyttats eller avlägsnats.</p>

<p>Gå till ingångssidan och sök efter önskat ämne genom att navigera i tjänsten eller med hjälp av Sök-funktionen.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.kela.fi/ge-respons" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Ge respons</a></p>

<p> </p>

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OmaKelan nimissä liikkuu tällä hetkellä paljon huijausviestejä, joiden kautta rikolliset yrittävät saada haltuunsa suomalaisten henkilötietoja. Viestin vastaanottajaa saatetaan pyytää esimerkiksi avaamaan linkkejä, kirjautumaan verkkopalveluun pankkitunnuksillaan tai lähettämään omia tietojaan. Kalasteluviesteillä kerätyt tiedot voivat päätyä rikollisten käsiin. Kela ei koskaan kysy henkilötietoja sähköpostitse tai tekstiviestillä. Kelan verkkopalveluun voi kirjautua turvallisesti vain osoitteessa www.kela.fi.

Just nu sprids ett flertal bluffmeddelanden i MittFPA:s namn. Via dessa meddelanden försöker brottslingar komma åt finländarnas personuppgifter. Mottagaren av meddelandet kan till exempel bli ombedd att öppna länkar, logga in på en onlinetjänst med sina bankuppgifter eller att skicka sin egen information. Information som samlas in genom nätfiskemeddelanden kan hamna i händerna på kriminella. FPA ber aldrig om personuppgifter per e-post eller sms. Det är bara på adressen www.fpa.fi som det är tryggt att logga in på MittFPA-sidorna.

Kalasteluhuijauksia liikkeellä OmaKelan nimissä

Bluffmeddelanden sprids i MittFPA:s namn

On Monday, 14 July 2025, a malfunction in Kela’s phone service system prevented us from calling customers who had submitted a call request. The system is now fully operational again. If you submitted a call request on Monday, we will do our best to call you today, 15 July 2025. As we work through the backlog of calls, some Kela customer service numbers may not be able to accept new call requests on Tuesday, 15 July.   We apologise for any inconvenience.   Kela Technical Support tekninentuki@kela.fi

Kelan puhelinpalvelussa oli maanantaina 14.7.2025 häiriö, jonka vuoksi asiakkaiden jättämiin soittopyyntöihin ei voitu soittaa takaisin. Häiriö on nyt saatu korjattua. Maanantaina jätetyt soittopyynnöt pyritään soittaman takaisin asiakkaille tänään 15.7.2025. Tämän vuoksi on mahdollista, että kaikissa Kelan asiakaspalvelunumeroissa ei tiistaina 15.7. voi jättää soittopyyntöä.   Pahoittelemme häiriöstä aiheutuvaa haittaa.   Kelan tekninen tuki tekninentuki@kela.fi

FPA:s telefontjänst hade en störning på måndagen 14.7.2025, och på grund av störningen har vi inte kunnat ringa upp kunder som lämnat en begäran om återuppringning. Problemet har nu åtgärdats. Vi försöker ringa upp de kunder som på måndagen lämnat en begäran om återuppringning idag 15.7.2025. Därför är det möjligt att det inte i alla våra servicenummer går att lämna en begäran om återuppringning på tisdag 15.7.   Vi beklagar de olägenheter som störningen medför.   FPA, tekniska supporten tekninentuki@kela.fi

Kela’s callback service not fully available today due to downtime on Monday, 14 July

Kelan puhelinpalvelussa oli häiriö maanantaina 14.7. – takaisinsoitoissa viivettä

Störning i FPA:s telefontjänst måndagen 14.7 – dröjsmål i återuppringningarna 

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<p>When you visit a service point, bring proof of identity, such as your passport or driver’s licence. If you are acting on behalf of another person, you need a specific power of attorney from that person and proof of your identity.</p><p>If you bring your online banking credentials or a mobile certificate, you can manage your Kela-related affairs on a self-service computer at the service point.</p><p>You are permitted to bring a guide dog, an assistance dog or a government working dog to a service point.</p>

Customer service points where service is provided by Kela’s employees. You can get personal advice in all Kela-related matters.

Service points where service is provided by the municipality’s employees. You can get general guidance on Kela’s benefits and services. You can pick up forms and brochures and file applications.

<p>When you visit a Kela customer service point, bring proof of identity, such as your passport or driver’s licence. If you are acting on behalf of another person, you need a specific power of attorney from that person and proof of your identity.</p><p>If you bring your online banking credentials or a mobile certificate, you can manage your Kela-related affairs on a self-service computer at the customer service point. There are no self-service computers at the customer service points you can only visit by appointment. </p><p>You are permitted to bring a guide dog, an assistance dog or a government working dog to a customer service point.</p>

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