General social security benefit for the unemployed introduced on 1 May – means testing to apply more widely than before 

A new general social security benefit will be introduced for the unemployed at the beginning of May. The benefit is intended for unemployed persons who do not qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance or who have used up the full amount of their earnings-related unemployment allowance. Customers who now get labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance will be transferred under the new general social security benefit scheme as of 1 May 2026. 

The amount of the general social security benefit will be about EUR 800 per month. It corresponds to the existing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. 

Means testing may lead to reduced benefits 

The general social security benefit is paid to the unemployed, and it is a means-tested benefit. As such, you have to be in need of financial assistance to qualify for the benefit. Customers who have been paid basic unemployment allowance and customers over 55 who have been paid labour market subsidy will be subjected to means testing for the first time. 

“Starting from 1 May, means testing will apply to all customers who get unemployment benefits from Kela. This is a significant change because, until now, means testing has not applied to customers on basic unemployment allowance or to the majority of customers over 55 who get labour market subsidy”, says Kirsi Metsävainio, Benefits Manager at Kela. 

Means testing means that capital income and other income that is not wages or salary, such as informal care allowance, dividends and rental income, will affect the amount of general social security benefit the customer can get. The income limit that applies to these types of income in the means testing is EUR 311 per month. If the customer exceeds this income limit, 50% of the amount of income that is over the limit will be deducted from their general social security benefit.

Earned income (wages or salary) will affect the general social security benefit in the same way as it has affected labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance up until now. This means that the customer’s general social security benefit will gradually decrease as their earned income increases. The amount of the benefit will be reduced by 50 cents for every 1 euro earned as wages or salary. Note that the income limit of EUR 311 does not apply to earned income.

Impact of partial early old-age pension on the benefit to be reconsidered

Under the new Act on the General Social Security Benefit, partial early old-age pension must also be taken into consideration in the means testing and may reduce the amount of the general social security benefit. This has raised a lot of questions, as many unemployed persons had opted to go on partial early old-age pension before its impact on the general social security benefit became public knowledge.

However, the impact of partial early old-age pension on the general social security benefit is currently under review, and the Act may be changed later depending on the outcome of this review.

Kela will monitor the situation and keep customers updated on any changes introduced to the Act on the General Social Security Benefit as soon as more information becomes available.

Customers can use Kela’s services as before 

The introduction of the new benefit does not affect how customers use Kela’s services. Unemployed persons can apply for the general social security benefit if they do not qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance or if they have used up the full amount of their earnings-related unemployment allowance. They must also be registered as an active jobseeker with the employment services to qualify for the benefit. Customers apply for the general social security benefit retroactively, as is also currently the case for existing unemployment benefits paid by Kela. 

Over 230,000 customers who get basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy from Kela will be transferred under the general social security benefit scheme on 1 May. In 2025, Kela paid unemployment benefits to a total of about 350,000 persons.