If pregnancy has lasted 154 days (22 weeks of pregnancy) or more, and the child is stillborn or dies at birth or soon thereafter, Kela will pay maternity allowance for 105 working days. Eligibility for the maternity grant is retained as well, but no parental allowance or child benefit is paid. If pregnancy ends in a live birth before 154 days, the mother is entitled to maternity allowance for 105 working days.
If a child is stillborn or dies at birth, paternity allowance can be paid during the maternity allowance period for up to 18 working days following the death of the child. If the child's father is unable to take time off from work immediately, the paternity allowance can be granted from a later date but not past the point at which 18 working days have elapsed since the child's death. The paternity allowance period must be taken in one go.
Maternity, paternity or parental allowance are not payable if pregnancy ends in miscarriage before having lasted 154 days (22 weeks of pregnancy) and the child is stillborn. Special maternity allowance is payable up until the miscarriage if the other eligibility conditions are met.
If a child dies during the paternity allowance period, payment of paternity allowance will continue until the end of the current payment period (for up to 18 working days).
If a child dies when either the mother or the father is on parental leave, Kela will pay parental allowance for 12 working days starting from the date of death and ending, at the latest, the month when the parental allowance period ends. Payment of child benefit ends at the beginning of the following month.
No extension for multiple birth is added to the parental allowance period if only one of two or more children that are born at the same time is alive when the parental allowance period begins. If at least two of the children are alive when the parental allowance period begins, the extended period of payment is completed.
Social assistance, or income support, is the last-resort form of financial assistance. It is available to individuals and families who are unable to make a living by any other means, and whose income and assets and other social benefits do not cover their necessary daily expenses.