18/3/2024Cuts in general housing allowances and unemployment benefits will impact around 500,000 of Kela’s customers starting from 1 April 2024Several cuts will be made in April to the general housing allowances and unemployment benefits available from Kela. The benefits of around half a million customers will be affected. The cuts made to the unemployment benefits will reduce benefits right away in April. General housing allowances will be reduced when next reviewed, which will take place no later than March 2025. 12/3/2024Easter affects Kela’s opening hours and payment schedulesBecause of Easter, unemployment status reports are filed and unemployment benefits paid earlier than usual. Customers whose application and supporting documents arrive at Kela by 15 March 2024 will have their social assistance payment deposited into their account before Easter. On Holy Thursday, 28 March 2024, regular customer service will be available until 13.00, while service for customers with an urgent need of social assistance will be available until 16.00.1/2/2024Kela launches procurement of information systems used in benefit administrationKela has plans to modernise the information systems it uses for benefit administration and is launching a public procurement for this purpose.31/1/2024Kela services probably not impacted by the demonstration and political strikes scheduled for 31 January – 2 February 2024 It appears that Kela services will not be impacted by the demonstration that trade unions will hold on Thursday, 1 February 2024, and the political strike scheduled for 31 January to 2 February. While Kela taxis will not be targeted by the strike, it is a good idea to book a taxi as soon as possible.31/1/2024How to check your client data if the service provider has ceased operations and the data has been transferred to KelaIf a private provider of healthcare and social welfare service ceases operations, it must ensure that the patient and client data are stored and archived securely. Different organisations can be responsible for storing and archiving the data. These instructions are for clients who want to check the patient data that has been transferred to Kela.11/1/2024Higher education students can now pay the healthcare feeHigher education students who study for a degree and who have registered as attending must pay a student healthcare fee. The new due date for the spring term is 15 March 2024 Kela will send a letter in advance of the due date to students who must pay the fee.21/12/2023Kela gets ready to invite tenders for its benefit administration systemsKela has plans to modernise the information systems it uses for benefit administration and is preparing a public tender. The modernisation is intended to improve customer experience and streamline the benefit processes.20/12/2023Changes to the housing allowance for pensioners year 2024The pensioners’ housing allowance will be frozen at its 2023 level. The allowance is linked to the National Pensions Index. The charges for heating, water and maintenance and the maximum amounts of housing costs will also not be adjusted in 2024–2027. Other rules for determining the housing allowance for pensioners remain unchanged.20/12/2023Changes to Kela benefits in 2024The number of changes to Kela benefits and eligibility criteria scheduled for 2024 is unusually large. Some of the changes will take effect at the beginning of 2024, others not until later in 2024.18/12/2023Changes to Kela unemployment benefits in 2024Parliament has approved a number of changes to unemployment benefits. Among them are cuts to basic unemployment allowances and labour market subsidies, both of which are paid by Kela. Some of the changes will take effect at the beginning of 2024, others not until later in 2024. This press release summarises all of the changes to Kela unemployment benefits that will be implemented during 2024.15/12/2023Front-veterans’ supplements to be increasedThe amounts of the front-veterans’ supplements (both the regular supplement and the supplement payable abroad) will go up to EUR 200 per month. The increased amount will be available starting 1 May 2024. 13/12/2023General housing allowance reduced in 2024, will no longer be available for owner-occupied homes starting in 202513/12/2023Some applications wait for decision from ParliamentSome Kela customers have now had to wait for a decision on their application longer than usual. If Parliament finalises the consideration of the proposed legislation on a freezing of the index during this week, Kela can issue decisions starting next week. 13/12/2023Legislative amendment to enter into force: more social assistance recipients will be asked to seek more affordable housingThere are municipality-specific maximum limits for the amount of housing costs that can be recognised under the social assistance scheme. Kela can recognise housing costs that exceed the maximum limit if there are special grounds for this. A legislative amendment entering into force on 1 April 2024 will impose further limits to what counts as special grounds.13/12/2023The government guarantee for student loans and the provider supplement to the study grant will be increasedThe government guarantee for student loans and the provider supplement to the study grant will be increased12/12/2023Student financial aid to be discontinued for some students; it is possible to reapply for financial aid laterKela monitors study progress annually for students in upper secondary education and higher education. This autumn, the academic progress of some 230,000 higher education students was monitored. Based on the monitoring results, student financial aid will be discontinued for about 3,200 students.1234567page 1/7