Rehabilitation allowance

You cannot get rehabilitation allowance (kuntoutusraha) for rehabilitation that lasts under 4 hours a day, including travel time. For that reason, Kela cannot pay you rehabilitation allowance during different types of therapy or when you participate in Nuotti coaching or Oma väylä rehabilitation.

In addition, certain other benefits and compensations may prevent you from getting rehabilitation allowance or reduce its amount. More information about how other benefits and compensations affect rehabilitation allowance.

If you have to stop participating in rehabilitation for a short time, for example because you are sick, please contact us immediately. We will check if we can continue paying you rehabilitation allowance (kuntoutusraha). 

If you are not working when your vocational rehabilitation begins, you can get rehabilitation allowance even if you start working part-time or occasionally during the rehabilitation course. 

You are not in working life for example if 

• you are fully unemployed
• you are a self-employed business owner who does not have to take out YEL or MYEL insurance
• you take care of your household or family.

If you are waiting for your vocational rehabilitation to begin, you can get rehabilitation allowance while you wait. You can also get rehabilitation allowance payments between rehabilitation periods.

You qualify for the rehabilitation allowance in these cases if you need the allowance to secure your finances and the progress of your rehabilitation.

During a single calendar year, you can get rehabilitation allowance before rehabilitation and between rehabilitation periods for a maximum of 3 months in total. You can get rehabilitation allowance for a longer period than that only in exceptional cases.

More information about how much rehabilitation allowance you can get before and between rehabilitation periods.

An off-day (joustopäivä) means a day when you are not able to participate in a work try-out (työkokeilu) or job coaching (työhönvalmennus).

You can get rehabilitation allowance during your off-days if you meet all the following conditions:

• You are not able to participate in a work try-out or job coaching 5 days a week because your ability to work or study or your functional capacity is limited.
• Despite that, you participate in a work try-out or job coaching on at least 3 days a week.
• You do not work on your off-days.

The goal is for you to complete your education or training during the period when Kela has granted you vocational rehabilitation in the form of education or training. We will check the records and registers maintained by educational institutions to see your attendance status and the study credits you have completed. We will also check your application documents and study plans and ask you for more information if we need it.

If you work during your studies, the income you earn may affect the amount of rehabilitation allowance you can get.

However, you can work part-time alongside your studies and earn wages or salary or income from self-employment. If you are self-employed, earned income that is subject to YEL or MYEL insurance is included in your annual income. If the income you get during the academic term exceeds the income limit, the amount that is over that limit is deducted from your rehabilitation allowance. 

We will check your earned income (wages and salary) from the Incomes Register and take wage and salary payments into account based on their payment date. We get information on self-employed persons’ earned income from pension insurance companies. We will take that earned income into account from the period when the insurance has been in force.

If you are in apprenticeship training (oppisopimuskoulutus), Kela will pay your rehabilitation allowance to your employer. The income limit does not apply to wages or salary paid during an apprenticeship. Let us know immediately if you start an apprenticeship.

Tell us if you are working or about to start working

Tell Kela

• when you will start working and how long you will work
• whether you are working full time or part time
• how much income you estimate you will get during the academic term
• how your income might change during the academic term.

Please note that you cannot cancel rehabilitation allowance in advance or pay it back because of changes in your income, even if you can do this with student financial aid.

Tell Kela about your work or apprenticeship training (oppisopimuskoulutus) by contacting us in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) or by calling our customer service number for rehabilitation clients.

If you are a student, you can get interim rehabilitation allowance (väliajan kuntoutusraha) during the summer holidays.  

Do you plan to work and not study during the summer?

If you are paid less than EUR 800 per month, you can get interim rehabilitation allowance during the summer.

Do you plan to work and study during the summer?

You can get rehabilitation allowance payments. Your wages or salary will affect how much rehabilitation allowance you can get.

Do you plan to study full time or work in an unpaid internship that is part of your studies during the summer?

You can get rehabilitation allowance payments.

Do you plan to work in a paid internship that is part of your studies during the summer?

You can get rehabilitation allowance payments. Your wages or salary will affect how much rehabilitation allowance you can get.

Will you be in apprenticeship training during the summer?

If you are paid wages or a salary, Kela will pay your rehabilitation allowance to your employer. If you take paid annual leave from your apprenticeship training (oppisopimuskoulutus), you cannot get interim rehabilitation allowance.

Are you not planning to study, have a summer job or work as an intern?

You can get interim rehabilitation allowance if you need it to secure your financial situation or the progress of your rehabilitation.

Submit information on your summer studies and the continuation of your studies

We need information on the studies you will complete during the summer and whether you will continue your studies in the autumn before we can decide if you have the right to rehabilitation allowance (kuntoutusraha) during the summer and the next academic year.

You will get a letter from Kela during the spring term where we will ask you to give us the information we need by completing a form on your studies during the summer and the following autumn (form KU 150, available in Finnish and Swedish). If you do not give us the information we need, we cannot continue the payment of your rehabilitation allowance.   

Do as follows:

1. Complete the form on your studies during the summer and in the next autumn KU 150 (in Finnish, PDF).

   • Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
   • Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
2. Send the form to us in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).

   • Log in to OmaKela  and go to Lähetä liite (Send supporting documents).
   • First select Muut Kela-asiat (Other Kela benefits and services). Then select Kuntoutus (Rehabilitation).
   • Add the application form you have completed as an attachment.
   • If you submit your form in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
3. Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application.

If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

You can get rehabilitation allowance (kuntoutusraha) if you meet these conditions:

• Your occupational healthcare provider has decided that you need early rehabilitation (varhaiskuntoutus).
• Your occupational healthcare provider has issued a rehabilitation decision (kuntoutuspäätös) for you.
• Your employer will cover part of the costs of your rehabilitation.

Examples of the types of early rehabilitation you can get include

• a course designed to improve your fitness
• a work try-out (työkokeilu) at your own workplace
• medical rehabilitation (for example in a rehabilitation centre)
• a period of rehabilitation for substance abusers.

You can get rehabilitation allowance during rehabilitation offered by a wellbeing services county. You need a rehabilitation decision (kuntoutuspäätös) or a rehabilitation voucher (kuntoutuksen maksusitoumus). The decision or voucher can be issued, for example, by a hospital, a health centre or social services.

Examples of the types of rehabilitation you can get include

• a period of medical rehabilitation (for example in a rehabilitation centre or hospital outpatient clinic)
• an assessment of rehabilitation needs
• adaptation training
• family rehabilitation for persons who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability
• family rehabilitation offered as a support measure for clients of outpatient child welfare services or as rehabilitation for substance abusers
• individual rehabilitation for substance abusers.

If you are participating in vocational rehabilitation offered by Kela, you can get rehabilitation allowance while you wait for the rehabilitation to begin or during the time between rehabilitation periods.

The rehabilitation allowance Kela pays before and between rehabilitation periods is 20% smaller than the full rehabilitation allowance, but you will be paid at least the minimum rate of rehabilitation allowance. During a single calendar year, you can get rehabilitation allowance before rehabilitation and between rehabilitation periods for a maximum of 3 months in total. You can get rehabilitation allowance for a longer period than that only in exceptional cases.

More information about rehabilitation allowance paid before and between rehabilitation periods.

You can get partial rehabilitation allowance (osakuntoutusraha) if you can work on the same day you attend rehabilitation, but your working hours are cut by at least 40% on that day. The partial rehabilitation allowance is 50% of the full allowance. You apply for partial rehabilitation allowance in the same way as for rehabilitation allowance.

The amount of rehabilitation allowance for pensioners (eläkkeensaajan kuntoutusraha) is calculated by checking how much 10% of your pension is and dividing that amount by 25. Rehabilitation allowance is not deducted from your pension. It is paid in addition to your pension.

The length of the waiting period depends on the type of rehabilitation

No waiting period in the following situations:

• You are paid sickness allowance (sairauspäiväraha) or unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) up until the start of your rehabilitation.
• Kela has paid you or someone else in your household social assistance (toimeentulotuki) during the calendar month in which Kela grants you rehabilitation allowance or in the calendar month before that.
• You participate in your child’s rehabilitation.

The waiting period is one day when you participate in

• a rehabilitation course that lasts up to 12 working days
• a vocational rehabilitation assessment
• Kiila rehabilitation
• work try-out
• job coaching
• training offered on a trial basis
• a work try-out arranged by an occupational healthcare provider
• individual rehabilitation that lasts up to 20 working days.

The waiting period is 10 days in the following situations:

• Kela has granted you vocational rehabilitation in the form of education or training
• you get rehabilitation allowance for young persons (nuoren kuntoutusraha)
• you get individual rehabilitation that lasts over 20 working days.

The waiting period is 30 days in the following situations:

• you are being paid a full disability pension (työkyvyttömyyseläke) or rehabilitation subsidy (kuntoutustuki) when the rehabilitation begins.

Kela will pay your rehabilitation allowance to you after your rehabilitation is over and you have submitted a certificate of participation (osallistumistodistus) to Kela. If your rehabilitation course is divided into short periods, we will pay your rehabilitation allowance to you after each period.

You can use the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) to send us a copy of your certificate of participation.

If your rehabilitation lasts for a long time, we will pay the first instalment of your rehabilitation allowance to you 6 days after the start of the rehabilitation and the next instalments every 25 working days (Monday to Friday).

If the dates of your rehabilitation course change, Kela will review your rehabilitation allowance. This means that you will get a new decision on your allowance, and there may be changes in how much rehabilitation allowance you can get and when it will be paid to you. You can check when the next payment date is in OmaKela.

If you are paid wages or a salary during your rehabilitation, Kela will pay your rehabilitation allowance to your employer. If the allowance is higher than your salary, you get the difference.

You cannot get rehabilitation allowance for the same period as sickness allowances (sairauspäiväraha).

Social assistance (toimeentulotuki) is paid as a last resort. This means that you must first apply for all other benefits that you may have the right to before you apply for social assistance. These are called your primary benefits (ensisijaiset tuet). If you participate in rehabilitation, your primary benefit is rehabilitation allowance or rehabilitation allowance for young persons. You have to apply for it first before you apply for social assistance.

You cannot get rehabilitation allowance for the same period as unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki).

If Kela pays you rehabilitation allowance for less than 18 days in a calendar month, your student financial aid (opintotuki) will be deducted from your rehabilitation allowance. If you are paid rehabilitation allowance for more than 18 days in a calendar month, Kela will stop the payment of your student financial aid completely.

You can get school transport subsidy (koulumatkatuki) for the same period as rehabilitation allowance.

More information about Kela benefits for students.

Daily allowances for parents include parental allowance (vanhempainraha), pregnancy allowance (raskausraha) and special pregnancy allowance (erityisraskausraha). Your rehabilitation allowance will be deducted from any daily allowances for parents you get for the same period as rehabilitation allowance. 

You can be paid rehabilitation allowance and child home care allowance (kotihoidon tuki) or private day care allowance (yksityisen hoidon tuki) at the same time. If you are paid rehabilitation allowance for a long time, it can affect how much child home care allowance or private day care allowance you can get. 

Read more about Kela benefits for families with children.

You can get rehabilitation allowance if you are paid a full disability pension (työkyvyttömyyseläke) or rehabilitation subsidy (kuntoutustuki). In that case, how much rehabilitation allowance you can get will be calculated based on the amount of your pension.

You can get rehabilitation allowance if you are paid a partial disability pension (osatyökyvyttömyyseläke) or partial rehabilitation subsidy (osakuntoutustuki). Your partial disability pension or partial rehabilitation subsidy will affect how much rehabilitation allowance you can get under certain conditions. For example, your pension may be deducted from your rehabilitation allowance. This depends on when you start getting your pension and if it is paid to you for the same period as rehabilitation allowance.

You cannot get rehabilitation allowance for the same period as old-age pension (vanhuuseläke) or early old-age pension (varhennettu vanhuuseläke).

Compensation you are paid for partial loss of income (osittainen ansionmenetyskorvaus) under compulsory worker’s compensation insurance or under the Military Injuries Act, the Military Accidents Act or laws that apply to motor liability insurance will be deducted from your rehabilitation allowance.

You cannot get rehabilitation allowance if you are paid compensation for full loss of income (täysi ansionmenetyskorvaus).

You can get rehabilitation allowance for the same period as disability benefits (vammaistuet). Your disability benefits do not affect how much rehabilitation allowance you can get.

Kela may pay you maintenance allowance (ylläpitokorvaus) for additional costs caused by your rehabilitation if you are paid rehabilitation allowance at the minimum rate.

The maintenance allowance is EUR 9 per day, and it is paid for days when you participate in rehabilitation. You do not have to pay taxes on your maintenance allowance.

You can apply for maintenance allowance in the same way as for rehabilitation allowance. Kela will decide if you can get the allowance on a case-by-case basis.

You cannot get maintenance allowance if you are paid rehabilitation allowance during your studies.

Kela can pay rehabilitation assistance (kuntoutusavustus) to support rehabilitation clients in their entry into working life after they have completed rehabilitation offered by Kela.

You can get rehabilitation assistance if, after completing rehabilitation, you start a job where you earn significantly less than you used to or you start on-the-job training.

You cannot get rehabilitation assistance if you have the right to unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki).

Kela will always decide if you can get rehabilitation assistance and how much you can get on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply for rehabilitation assistance

1. Fill in the application form for rehabilitation assistance KU 113 (in Finnish, PDF).

   • Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
   • Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
   • Save the completed application form on your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
2. Send the application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).

   • Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus (Submit an application). If you want to apply for rehabilitation assistance on behalf of someone else, go to Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person). Read more about acting on behalf of another person.
   • First select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation). Then select Kuntoutus – tee hakemus (Rehabilitation – Submit an application). Finally, select Kuntoutusavustus (Rehabilitation assistance).
   • If you send your application to Kela in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
3. If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. The application form tells you what supporting documents you need to send.
4. Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application.

If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and the supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

Apply for rehabilitation assistance within 6 months of the date when you last received rehabilitation allowance.