Commentary: Social security to be streamlined by Kela’s Eepos development programme
Kela is reforming its benefit services with the aid of Eepos, a large-scale strategic development programme. The goal of the programme is to make social security easier to access and understand for Kela’s customers while ensuring that it offers better support in different circumstances. The first year since the launch of the programme has produced results that prove this strategy is a success.
Kela began the implementation of its Eepos programme in August 2025. During the first year of the programme, we have established a project organisation in cooperation with our strategic partner, PwC, and developed the first batch of services utilising the new target architecture. A significant milestone was achieved in spring 2026 when we implemented the single application model that allows customers to apply for general social security benefit and general housing allowance with the same application.
The key goal of Kela and Eepos is to build services that are tailored to customers’ different circumstances rather than individual social security benefits.
In the context of the single application model, this means that customers do not have to be familiar with Kela’s benefit system or know exactly which benefit they should apply for. The aim is to provide customers with a clear and simple path that they can follow to access the services they need in their specific situation.
We will gradually extend this approach to cover other Kela services as well. Ultimately, we hope to provide customers with more transparent access to their own case at Kela and the benefits they are entitled to.
More efficient use of information
Another key objective is to use information more efficiently. We seek to reduce the amount of information we need to request from customers by making better use of Kela’s own register data and information provided by other authorities where allowed by the law.
This means that customers would only have to check that their information is correct rather than having to repeatedly submit information at various points during the processing of their matters at Kela.
Simultaneously, we strive to increase the degree of automation in benefit administration. Kela being able to process some applications automatically will translate into faster turn-around times for customers.
Faster customer service through the reform
The implementation of the Eepos programme is divided into ten stages, which progress in parallel to a certain degree.
At the first stage, we establish the first benefit services and a technological foundation for our new operating model. This stage is expected to be completed in 2027.
After the completion of the first stage, we will implement new services in phases. Customers will see the impacts of the reform gradually in the form of faster and better service, as more and more of Kela’s benefit services are transferred under the new operating model.
In two to three years, customers will be using new-generation services to a significantly larger degree than before even as the implementation of the reform continues.
Emphasis on digital sovereignty
Concerns over digital sovereignty have become an increasingly important topic of discussion in Europe. For a public authority such as Kela, digital sovereignty means above all the ability to maintain the data security, data protection and operational security of our services in an ever-changing geopolitical landscape.
The existing demands of digital sovereignty were taken into consideration already during the procurement phase for the Eepos programme. Kela also actively keeps up to date on the policies being prepared in the European Union and assesses their impact on our operations.
For Kela, it is essential to ensure that customer data remains secure, that our services operate reliably and that our operations meet the requirements of both national and European regulation.
However, upholding digital sovereignty is a goal that cannot be achieved by a single organisation alone. It requires extensive cooperation at both the national and European levels in addition to long-term planning for strengthening digital capabilities across Europe.
The success of digitalisation hinges on the quality of data
The success of the Eepos programme depends not only on technology but also on how efficiently data can be used.
Discourse on barriers to digitalisation often focuses on legislation, but the quality and interoperability of data are equally important factors to consider. Even if data are available, their benefits cannot be fully extracted if they are not structurally compatible and sufficiently reliable or if they are not of good quality.
This is a factor of particularly crucial importance in the implementation of social security, as services rely on data from several sources. The more fluid the exchange of data between different actors and the higher the quality, the easier it is to build better automated and customer-oriented services.
The same applies to the use of artificial intelligence solutions. These solutions can have significant potential, but their benefits ultimately depend on the quality of the data they draw upon.
Towards more customer-oriented social security
Following the completion of the Eepos programme in the early 2030s, Kela will be able to implement social security more easily and efficiently with the customer’s specific situation in focus.
The aim is not only to modernise the technology Kela uses, but also to build services that make daily life easier for Kela’s customers, simplify the use of Kela’s services and support customers in their different circumstances.
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One of Kela’s proposals for the next Government is to dismantle barriers to digitalisation and to improve the exchange of data. Read more about Kela’s proposals for legislative development during the 2027–2031 government term (in Finnish).