Apply for other benefits before you apply for social assistance
Social assistance (toimeentulotuki) is granted as a last resort when you cannot get help from anywhere else. This means that you must first apply for all other benefits you may qualify for before you apply for social assistance. Those benefits are called primary benefits (ensisijaiset tuet). Examples of primary benefits include unemployment benefits, housing allowances, student financial aid, sickness allowances, daily allowances for parents and pensions.
After you have applied for all other benefits you may have the right to, Kela can usually issue you a decision on social assistance that covers more than one month.
In addition to Kela benefits, you may also have the right to other benefits or compensation paid by, for example, your unemployment fund (työttömyyskassa), wellbeing services county, authorised pension provider or insurance company.
Check what your primary benefits are
Select the option that best describes your life situation below.
If you are between the ages of 17 and 64 and you are unemployed, register as an unemployed jobseeker who is looking for a full-time job with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta). Next, you should apply for unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) and make sure you stay registered as an active jobseeker. Unemployment benefits are your primary benefits (ensisijainen etu). This means that you have to apply for them first before you apply for social assistance (toimeentulotuki). If you are under 25 and unemployed, and you do not have vocational qualifications or a higher education degree, you also have to apply for at least 2 places of study in the spring.
If you do not register with employment services, we may have to reduce (cut) the basic amount (perusosa) of your social assistance.
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to as well, such as housing allowance (asumistuki).
Have you fallen ill while unemployed? Read more about primary benefits in the event of illness.
A mandatory waiting period or an obligation to work will result in a cut to the basic amount
Kela can reduce (cut) the basic amount (perusosa) of your social assistance (toimeentulotuki) by 20% or 40% if you lose your right to unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) because a mandatory waiting period (karenssi), an obligation to work (työssäolovelvoite) or an obligation that applies to persons under 25 has been imposed on you.
| Applicant or family member | Full basic amount (EUR/month) | Reduced basic amount −20% (EUR/month) | Reduced basic amount −40% (EUR/month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person living alone | 596.32 | 477.06 | 357.79 |
| Person aged 18 or over living in a shared household | 506.87 | 405.50 | 304.12 |
| Single parent | 679.80 | 543.84 | 407.88 |
| Person aged 18 or over living with their parent(s) | 435.31 | 348.25 | 261.19 |
Kela only reduces the basic amount of the person who has lost their right to unemployment benefits due to, for example, a mandatory waiting period. The figures in this table apply from 1 January to 28 February 2026.
If you work part time or do short temporary jobs for less than 30 hours a week, you have to complete the following steps before you apply for social assistance:
- register with employment services as a jobseeker looking for a full-time job and be ready and available to accept work
- check if you have the right to adjusted unemployment benefit (soviteltu työttömyystuki).
If you do not register with the employment services as an unemployed jobseeker looking for full-time work, we may have to reduce (cut) the basic amount (perusosa) of your social assistance (toimeentulotuki).
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to, such as housing allowance (asumistuki).
Are you too ill to work? Read more about primary benefits in the event of illness.
If you are self-employed, you must earn at least about EUR 595 per month from your business. This is the same amount as labour market subsidy (työmarkkinatuki). If you do not earn this much, Kela will consider your business to be unprofitable and give you one month to either make your business profitable or close it down. After that, you have to register as an unemployed jobseeker looking for full-time work with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta) and apply for unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) first before applying for social assistance (toimeentulotuki).
This also applies to independently employed persons, such as freelancers, professional athletes and social media influencers.
If you do not register with the employment services within one month of Kela telling you to do so, we may have to reduce (cut) the basic amount (perusosa) of your social assistance by 50% starting from the next month until you register as a jobseeker and apply for unemployment benefits. Renew your status as an unemployed jobseeker regularly.
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to, such as housing allowance (asumistuki).
Are you too ill to work? Read more about primary benefits in the event of illness.
Apply for student financial aid (opintotuki) before you apply for social assistance (toimeentulotuki). Student financial aid is your primary benefit (ensisijainen etuus). Student financial aid is comprised of a study grant, the student housing supplement and a government guarantee for your student loan.
If you cannot get student financial aid, find out if you can get enough income to support yourself in some other way, for example by working, before you apply for social assistance. Working for at least 30 hours a week is considered to give you enough income to support yourself.
If your studies have not progressed as quickly as they should have, check if you can get an extension to your student financial aid period. If you have run out of student financial aid months or cannot get student financial aid for some other reason, you have to find other ways to support yourself. Other benefits you can apply for include general housing allowance (asumistuki) and unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki).
If you cannot support yourself in any of these ways and you apply for social assistance, we may have to reduce (cut) your basic amount.
Are you too ill to study? Read more about primary benefits in the event of illness.
See also: Seven benefits Kela offers to young people with a disability or chronic illness
Your primary benefit is sickness allowance (sairauspäiväraha). This means that it takes precedence over social assistance (toimeentulotuki). Sickness allowance provides compensation for loss of income resulting from a period of incapacity for work lasting less than 12 months. Sickness allowance has a waiting period (omavastuuaika). It is usually the first day of illness and the following 9 working days (Monday to Friday). Apply for sickness allowance first before you apply for social assistance.
If your illness or disability makes it difficult for you to study, work or live your daily life independently, talk to your doctor about rehabilitation. Kela can help you check what options are available for rehabilitation. Kela may pay you rehabilitation allowance (kuntotusraha) for the duration of your rehabilitation.
See also: What to do if my work capacity has declined? Follow these six steps to move forward
If you are still unable to work after Kela has paid you sickness allowance for the maximum amount of time, you can apply for rehabilitation subsidy (kuntoutustuki) or disability pension (työkyvyttömyyseläke).
If you do not have the right to sickness allowance or any other benefits Kela pays based on incapacity for work, you have to register as a jobseeker looking for a full-time job with employment services, be ready and available to accept work and apply for unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki). If you do not register with employment services, we may have to reduce (cut) the basic amount of your social assistance.
If you cannot study due to illness, your primary benefit is sickness allowance. You cannot usually be paid student financial aid and sickness allowance at the same time. If you are granted sickness allowance, we will automatically stop paying you student financial aid. Remember to tell Kela when you return to studying full time.
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to, such as housing allowance (asumistuki).
If you are pregnant or you are caring for a child under the age of 2 at home, your primary benefits are daily allowances for parents (vanhempainpäivärahat). This means that they take precedence over social assistance. After your child has been born, apply for child benefit (lapsilisä). Remember to also apply for child maintenance allowance (elatustuki) if necessary.
If you have a child under the age of 3 who does not go to a municipal day care (early childhood education, varhaiskasvatus), you can apply for child home care allowance (kotihoidon tuki). If your youngest child is over 3 years old and you do not get child home care allowance anymore, you have to register as an unemployed jobseeker looking for full-time work with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta) and apply for unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) first before applying for social assistance. If you do not register with the employment services within one month, we may have to reduce (cut) the basic amount (perusosa) of your social assistance.
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to, such as housing allowance (asumistuki).
If you are 65 or older, your primary benefit is old-age pension (vanhuuseläke). This means that it takes precedence over social assistance. If your earnings-related pension (työeläke) is small or you do not get one, Kela will pay you a national pension (kansaneläke) that supplements your earnings-related pension. Kela can pay you a guarantee pension (takuueläke) in addition to the national pension if your other pensions are very small.
If you are under 65 and unable to work, read more about primary benefits in the event of illness.
Before you apply for social assistance, make sure that you have already applied for all primary benefits that you may have the right to, such as housing allowance for pensioners (eläkkeensaajan asumistuki) or care allowance for pensioners (eläkettä saavan hoitotuki).
See also: Seven benefits Kela offers to young people with a disability or chronic illness
| Applicant or family member | Full basic amount (EUR per month) | Reduced basic amount (EUR per month) | Reduced basic amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-person household | 596.32 | 298.16 | 9.94 |
| Person aged 18 or over living in a shared household | 506.87 | 253.44 | 8.45 |
| Single parent | 679.80 | 339.90 | 11.33 |
| Person aged 18 or over living with their parent(s) | 435.31 | 217.66 | 7.26 |
Kela only reduces the basic amount of the person who has not looked for full-time work or applied for other benefits they qualify for. Kela will not reduce the basic amounts of children under the age of 18. The figures in this table apply from 1 January to 28 February 2026.
You can always contact Kela
If you or someone in your family would like to talk to a Kela staff member about social assistance, call Kela’s customer service at 020 634 2550 or visit a Kela service point.