Upcoming index adjustment of 0.5 per cent only applies to some Kela benefits – many benefits will stay at the 2025 level
Kela has confirmed the value of the National Pensions Index as of 1 January 2026. An index adjustment of 0.5 per cent will be made as of the beginning of 2026, but only to some benefits.
Most benefits provided by Kela are tied to the National Pensions Index. The National Pensions Index is linked to the Cost-of-Living Index, which is compiled by Statistics Finland and tracks the prices of key commodities. As prices change, the index linkage helps to maintain the purchasing power of benefits.
Kela is required by law to confirm the value of the National Pensions Index by the end of October for the following calendar year. Kela has now confirmed that the value of the index will be 1939 in 2026. This year the value is 1930. The value of the index will thus increase by 0.5 per cent, and the rates of the benefits that are linked to the index will be increased accordingly. However, no index adjustment will be made to benefits whose rates have been frozen by the Government for the years 2024 to 2027.
The following Kela benefits will be increased by 0.5 per cent as of 1 January 2026: national pension, guarantee pension, front-veterans’ supplements, survivors’ pensions, disability benefits, the basic amount of conscript’s allowance and the basic amount of social assistance as well as the initial deductible and the maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket medicine costs. The increase per benefit and the increased rates of the benefits are shown in a table at the end of this press release.
No index adjustments will be made in 2026 to the following Kela benefits: labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance, child care allowances, study grant, or the minimum amounts of sickness allowance, partial sickness allowance, daily allowances for parents, special care allowance, sickness allowance on account of human cell, tissue or organ donation, and rehabilitation allowance. The rates of these benefits will remain the same as in 2025. Index adjustments will also not be made to the criteria for determining the general housing allowance and the housing allowance for pensioners in 2026.
Benefit rates and income limits as of 1 January 2026
The following table shows the benefit rates and income limits as of 1 January 2026.
Kela will publish more information on next year’s benefit rates and related income limits at the end of this year once all government proposals related to social security have been processed in Parliament. For example, the Government has proposed a full reform of social assistance and the introduction of a new general social security benefit for the unemployed. The former will enter into force on 1 February 2026 and the latter on 1 May 2026 if they are approved by Parliament. Kela will publish more information on the impact of these government proposals at a later date.