Did you get a collection letter from Kela? This is what you should do
A collection letter from Kela can raise concerns. However, you do not need to pay off your debt in one go. You can propose a payment plan. This article contains the most important information on the recovery of benefits and the repayment of debt.
Why does Kela recover benefits from you?
If you have been paid too much benefit or if Kela has paid you a benefit that you do not have the right to, Kela will usually recover the overpayment in full or in part.
The reason for the recovery is often that you have not reported changes that affect your right to a benefit or the amount of a benefit in time. Such changes can include changes in your income, housing or family situation.
Kela may also have to collect child support payments, debt arising from a student loan guarantee or student healthcare fees from you.
What should I do if I get a letter about an overpaid benefit?
If Kela sends you a letter about an overpaid benefit, first read it carefully. The letter will explain the reason for the recovery and what you must do next.
Before Kela decides on the recovery, Kela will send you a request for more information so that you can comment on the matter.
You should reply to the request for more information within the set time limit. You can reply to the request in the OmaKela e-service or call our customer service in English. If you do not give Kela the requested information, Kela will make its recovery decision on the basis of information available to us.
If Kela decides to recover an overpaid benefit from you, you will get a notice of Kela’s decision in OmaKela that shows the amount being recovered, the due date and the payment details. You will also get a decision if we decide to waive the recovery.
If you do not understand something written in the letter, you can call the phone number written in the letter or send a message in English in OmaKela.
When can Kela waive recovery before making a decision on the recovery?
Before making a decision on recovery, Kela may in certain situations waive the recovery or reduce the amount being recovered if the recovery would be unreasonable for the customer. We will always consider your overall situation, which can be affected by factors such as
- your social situation (for example whether you are somebody’s custodian)
- your financial situation
- whether receiving the overpaid benefit caused you to lose some other social security benefit
- whether the overpayment was caused by Kela or some other authority
- the amount of time that has passed since the overpayment.
However, we cannot waive recovery or reduce the amount to be recovered if the overpayment is due to dishonest conduct. Read more about the recovery of benefits.
Information about paying and managing the debt
If you cannot pay the full amount of your debt in one go, you can propose a payment plan.
You can propose a payment plan for the recovery of benefits, debt arising from the government student loan guarantee, or child support debt. The student healthcare fee cannot be paid in instalments.
How to propose a payment plan
- Log in to OmaKela and choose Perinnät (Recovery) and then the recovery-related matter for which you want to propose a payment plan.
- The application shows you the size of the instalments that you can propose for your payment plan.
- We will reply to your proposal. If we accept your proposal, we will send you a payment plan. We will not send you separate invoices each month. You can view the details of the payment plan in OmaKela.
You can propose a payment plan for the recovery of child support debt by sending a message in English in OmaKela. Select Liikamaksut ja perintäasiat (Overpayment and recovery) as the subject of your message and Elatusapuvelan maksusuunnitelma (Payment plan for child support debt) as the specification (tarkenne).
Note that Kela cannot always agree on a payment plan with you. If you do not have enough money to repay the recovered amount in instalments, your debt can be referred to the enforcement authority for collection.
Kela may be able to grant you relief or an exemption for your debt in certain situations.
If you cannot pay your child support debt to Kela due to temporary financial difficulties, you can ask to be exempted from the amount of child support debt that you owe to Kela. If Kela grants you the exemption, Kela will not recover its own share of your child support debt from you, but you will still have to pay the share that is owed to the child. Read more about the recovery of child support debt.
There are also exemptions available for debt arising from the government student loan guarantees. If your income is low, you may be exempted from the 4% interest that Kela adds to the debt it recovers. If you are permanently disabled for work or have been disabled for work for at least 5 years and also have a low income, you may be exempted from the entire debt. Read more on the recovery of debt arising from the government student loan guarantee.
If you do not pay back your debt or agree on how to repay it, we will refer the debt to collection through an enforcement order. We usually send 2 requests for payment before we refer the debt to collection through an enforcement order.
Child support debt that has fallen due will be referred to the enforcement authority without a separate payment reminder. Kela will not stop the enforcement process, so if you want to agree on payment arrangements, please do so in time.
In certain situations, Kela can offset the overpaid benefit against (deduct it from) some other benefit that Kela pays to you. Kela may offset the debt against a benefit that you later get for the same purpose without your consent. For example, overpaid housing allowance (asumistuki) can be offset against housing allowance that Kela pays to you later.
Offsetting cannot be done if Kela pays you social assistance (toimeentulotuki). Offsetting is likewise usually not possible against unemployment benefits.
Kela can use child increases payable for pensions, as well as provider supplements to the study grant, to recover child support debt.
Do the following if you get a collection letter
- Read the letter carefully.
- Reply to any request for further information within the set time limit.
- Contact Kela if you have any questions.
- Propose a payment plan in time if you cannot pay your debt in one go.
- Do not ignore the letter. If you do, your debt may be referred to the enforcement authority for collection.