Changes in unemployment benefits, general housing allowance and social assistance

1. The compensation percentage of the general housing allowance is reduced from the current 80 per cent to 70 per cent of the difference between the acceptable housing costs and the basic deductible.
   
   Following this change, households will have to pay a larger share of their housing costs themselves.
   
   The change took effect on 1 April 2024.
2. The basic deductible for the general housing allowance will go up from 42 percent to 50 percent.
   
   Following this change, households will have to pay a larger share of their acceptable housing costs themselves.
   
   When Kela calculates how much housing allowance a household can get, a basic deductible is determined for the household. The basic deductible will be equal to 50 percent of income exceeding the minimum income limit for the allowance.
   
   Additionally, the formula used to calculate the basic deductible will be adjusted to moderate the effect of the housing allowance cuts on families with children.
   
   These changes took effect on 1 April 2024.
3. The EUR 300 deduction for earned income will no longer be available.
   
   Following this change, Kela will take all household earnings into account when calculating the income affecting the housing allowance. Under current practice, Kela has disregarded some household income.
   
   The change took effect on 1 April 2024.
4. The maximum housing costs taken into account in Helsinki will be reduced.
   
   Until now, the amount of recognised maximum housing costs was higher in Helsinki than in the rest of the Greater Helsinki Region. Starting this year, the amount of recognised maximum housing costs will be the same for households living in Helsinki as for households living elsewhere in the Greater Helsinki Region.
   
   The change took effect on 1 April 2024.
5. General housing allowance will no longer be paid for owner-occupied homes.
   
   The change does not apply to right-of-occupancy or part-ownership homes. General housing allowance will continue to be available for such homes.
   
   The change will take effect on 1 January 2025.
6. Interest payments on housing loans for right-of-occupancy homes will no longer be recognised as housing costs.
   
   The change will take effect on 1 January 2025.

In addition to these, Government proposes more cuts to the general housing allowance starting 1 January 2025. The Government proposes for example that the assets of the household would affect the amount of the housing allowance. Read more about the proposition.

You can use an online calculator to estimate how much housing allowance you will get after the reduction. The calculator will give you an estimate of the new amount when you select 1 April 2024 or later as the start date.

The following changes to the general housing allowance took effect on 1 April 2024:

• The compensation percentage of the general housing allowance is reduced from the current 80 per cent to 70 per cent of the difference between the acceptable housing costs and the basic deductible.
• The basic deductible for the general housing allowance will go up from 42 percent to 50 percent.
• The EUR 300 deduction under the general housing allowance scheme for earned income will no longer be available.
• The maximum housing costs taken into account in Helsinki will be reduced.

The timing of the changes reducing the amount of your housing allowance will depend on your circumstances.

If you are granted general housing allowance for the first time on or after 1 April 2024, the amount of your housing allowance will be affected immediately.

If you received general housing allowance before 1 April 2024, your allowance will be reduced the next time you must apply for a review of the allowance.

See when you must apply for a review of the general housing allowance.

See examples of when the upcoming changes in the general housing allowance will begin to apply in various situations.

To see when you were granted general housing allowance and when it was last reviewed, refer to your most recent housing allowance decision. Visit OmaKela to see the decisions issued to you.

The following changes to the general housing allowance will take effect on 1 January 2025:

• General housing allowance will no longer be paid for owner-occupied homes.
• Interest payments on housing loans for right-of-occupancy homes will no longer be recognised as housing costs.

However, the timing of the reduction in the housing allowance depends on your individual circumstances. December 2024 will be the last month for which general housing allowance is available for owner-occupied homes.

Kela will stop paying housing allowance for owner-occupied homes automatically. The affected households do not have to take any action.

If you are granted general housing allowance for a right-of-occupancy home for the first time on or after 1 January 2025, the amount of your housing allowance will be affected immediately.

If you received general housing allowance for a right-of-occupancy home before 1 January 2025, your allowance will be reduced the next time you must apply for a review of the allowance.

See when you must apply for a review of the general housing allowance

To see when you were granted general housing allowance and when it was last reviewed, refer to your most recent housing allowance decision. Visit OmaKela to see the decisions issued to you.

You can use an online calculator to estimate how much housing allowance you will get after the reduction. The calculator will give you an estimate of the new amount when you select 1 April 2024 or later as the start date.

In addition to these, Government proposes more cuts to the general housing allowance starting 1 January 2025. The Government proposes for example that the assets of the household would affect the amount of the housing allowance. Read more about the proposition.

You do not have to contact Kela about the changes in the general housing allowance.

If you have questions about the general housing allowance, you can contact us by sending a message via OmaKela or calling our customer service numbers.

You do not have to apply for a review of the general housing allowance just because of the legislative changes.

If there is a change in your own circumstances or the circumstances of a household member, you must apply for a review of the general housing allowance. By applying for a review of your housing allowance, you can make sure to receive the correct amount.

You must always apply to Kela for a review of your housing allowance in the following situations::

• Your household’s income increases by at least EUR 400 per month.
• Your housing costs decrease by at least EUR 50 per month.
• You move to a different address.
• There is a change of occupants.

You can choose to apply for a review of the general housing allowance in the following situations:

• Your income decreases by at least EUR 200 per month.
• Your housing costs increase by at least EUR 50 per month.

In these situations, you should first use the general housing allowance calculator to estimate how the decrease in your income affects the amount of the allowance.

Go to the general housing allowance calculator

Please note that the decision to abolish the supplemental child increases paid with unemployment allowances may reduce your household’s income by a significant amount. In that case you have the option of applying for a review of your general housing allowance.

Read more about the upcoming changes to unemployment benefits.

See when you must apply for a review of general housing allowance

The legislative changes made to the general housing allowance apply to all current recipients of the allowance, including students.

There is an online calculator you can use to estimate how much general housing allowance you will get once the changes are in effect. The calculator will give you an estimate of the new amount when you select 1 April 2024 or later as the start date.

As part of its discussions on spending limits, the Government has proposed that students would no longer be eligible for general housing allowance starting from 1 August 2025. Instead, they would receive a housing supplement for students. Kela will provide further information to the public as the legislative process moves forward.

The changes made to the general housing allowance do not apply to the separate housing allowance paid to pensioners. If you want to check what kind of housing allowance you are receiving from Kela, you can do so in the OmaKela e-service. OmaKela is available in Finnish and Swedish.

The housing allowance for pensioners will continue to be available also for owner-occupied homes. 

Read more about the changes in Kela’s press release: Changes to the housing allowance for pensioners year 2024.

If you do not have enough money to cover your housing costs once the changes are in effect, use an online calculator (in Finnish or Swedish) to find out if you qualify for social assistance. You can apply for social assistance if all your income and assets are not enough to cover your essential everyday expenses, such as food, housing and medication.

Before applying for social assistance, first find out if there are other sources of income or benefits that could be available to you, such as unemployment benefit or student loans. First claim all benefits to which you are entitled.

Read more: What can I do if I don’t have enough money?

Under current legislation, the amount of general housing allowance is not affected by your assets. For example, the balance in your bank account does not impact the total housing allowance you receive.

Read about what types of income affect the amount of the general housing allowance

As part of its discussions on spending limits, the Government has proposed to introduce an asset limit for the general housing allowance on 1 January 2025. We will inform our customers when we know more about these changes.

If you receive general housing allowance, Kela will not ask you to move to more affordable housing.

If you receive social assistance and your housing costs exceed the limit for your municipality, Kela can ask you to seek more affordable housing.

The general housing allowance is calculated on the basis of so-called maximum housing costs. These maximum housing costs depend on where you live in Finland.

Check the maximum housing costs allowed under the general housing allowance scheme.

The amount of social assistance is calculated on the basis of reasonable housing costs. These reasonable housing costs depend on the municipality in which you live. In general, social assistance is not available for housing costs that exceed the reasonable limit without a compelling reason.

1. The waiting period for unemployment benefits has been extended from five days to seven days.
   
   The waiting period starts on the day a newly unemployed person registers as unemployed. Unemployment benefits are not available during the waiting period. As a result of the change, which has been in effect since 1 January 2024, unemployed persons now start to get unemployment benefits later than before.
2. In another change, a practice called periodisation was introduced for the compensations that wage and salary earners are paid for untaken leave.
   
   The periodisation applies to newly unemployed persons who were in full-time work for more than two weeks. If they have paid leave left over when their job ends, the compensation for untaken leave postpones the start of unemployment benefits. The periodisation of the compensation for untaken leave also has the effect of postponing the start of unemployment benefits.
   
   The change took effect on 1 January 2024.
3. The EUR 300 per month exempt amount associated with unemployment benefits has been abolished.

   
   The exempt amount is the amount of money that a recipient of an unemployment benefit may earn without a reduction in unemployment benefits. The abolishment of the exempt amount affects unemployed persons who work part-time or do incidental work and who receive adjusted unemployment benefit.

   Although the exempt amount has been abolished, it remains financially worthwhile to work during unemployment, because each euro earned only reduces unemployment benefits by 50 cents.

   For example, if an unemployed person earned EUR 400 before the abolishment of the exempt amount, the unemployment benefit was only reduced by EUR 50 due to effect of the exempt amount.

   After the abolishment of the exempt amount, earnings of EUR 400 reduce the benefit by EUR 200.

   The change took effect on 1 April 2024.

4. The child increases that Kela pays as a supplement to labour market subsidies, basic unemployment allowances and commuting and relocation allowances will be abolished.

   Effective from 1 April 2024, this change applies to unemployed persons who care for a child aged under 18 years.
    
5. There have been changes to the work requirement for employees.
   
   ​​​​​​The work requirement for employees has been extended from approximately 6 months to 12 months. This means that, in order to qualify for earnings-related or basic unemployment allowance, unemployed persons must have accumulated at least 12 months of work history that count towards the work requirement.
   
   In another related change, the accumulation of work history is now based on the wage and salary income earned by the employee during one calendar month. Before, work history was accumulated for any calendar weeks in which the employee worked for at least 18 hours a week.
   
   Going forward, each calendar month with earnings of at least EUR 930 counts as one month for the purposes of meeting the work requirement. Each calendar month in which earnings are at least EUR 465 but less than EUR 930 counts as half a month towards the work requirement.
   
   The work requirement does not have to completed in a consecutive period of employment. Instead, all paid work done during a reference period of 28 months counts towards the requirement.
   
   In order for work to count towards the requirement, the contract wage must be at least the rate specified in the collective agreement or EUR 1,399 per month.
   
   The change took effect on 2 September 2024.

There are online calculators for unemployment benefits (in Finnish or Swedish) you can use to estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits after the changes are in effect. The changes that will take effect on 1 April will be updated in the calculator by 17 March. The calculator will give you an estimate of the new amount when you select 1 April 2024 or later as the start date.

The following changes in unemployment benefits changes took effect on 1 January 2024:

Waiting period for unemployment benefits extended, periodisation of compensations for untaken leave introduced

The following changes in unemployment benefits changes took effect on 1 April 2024:

• Exempt amount on unemployment benefits removed. This will have an effect on the amounts of unemployment benefits in benefit adjustment periods that begin on or after 1 April 2024.
• Child increases to unemployment benefits discontinued.

The following changes in unemployment benefits changes took effect on 2 September 2024:

• Changes in the work requirement for employees.
  
  If an employee meets the work requirement by Sunday, 1 September 2024, the work requirement rules in effect before 2 September 2024 will be applied.

There are online calculators for unemployment benefits (in Finnish or Swedish) you can use to estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits after the changes are in effect. The changes that will take effect on 1 April 2024 will be updated in the calculators in March 2024. The calculator will give you an estimate of the new amount when you select 1 April 2024 or later as the start date.

More information about the changes in unemployment benefits (in Finnish at elämässä.fi).

If Kela has been recovering the child increases to your unemployment benefit to cover your monthly child support payments, please note that the child increases were discontinued as of 1 April 2024.

You must make a new payment plan where you outline how you will continue to make child support payments to Kela as they become due. Send the payment plan as a message in the OmaKela e-service (in Finnish or Swedish). The payment plan must meet Kela’s requirements in order to be accepted.

You can check the amount of child support due monthly in OmaKela.  

You can negotiate with your child’s resident parent about drafting a new maintenance agreement, if necessary. In order to do so, contact the child welfare officer of your wellbeing services county.

If you are unable to pay child support, you will accumulate child support debt.

If you have child support debt and Kela has been recovering the child increases to your unemployment benefit to pay off the debt, please note that the child increases were discontinued as of 1 April 2024. After that, child increases will no longer be available to pay off your debt.

You can check the status of your child support debt and the amount of child support due monthly in the OmaKela e-service (in Finnish or Swedish).  

If your child support debt has not been referred to the enforcement authority for collection, you can make a new payment plan where you outline how you will pay off the debt to Kela. Send the payment plan as a message in OmaKela. The payment plan must meet Kela’s requirements in order to be accepted.

You can negotiate with your child’s resident parent about drafting a new maintenance agreement, if necessary. In order to do so, contact the child welfare officer of your wellbeing services county.

If you are unable to make repayments on your child support debt, find out if you are entitled to an exemption from the payment of child support debt. You must regularly apply for an exemption from payment: Apply for an exemption from payment every two months if your child support debt is not being collected by way of enforcement. If your debt is being collected by way of enforcement, you can apply for an exemption from payment less frequently.

If you are unable to pay off your child support debt and you do not apply for an exemption from payment or are not entitled to one, Kela will refer your debt to the enforcement authority for collection. We will not send you a separate notice about that.

It depends on your maintenance agreement or child maintenance order whether the changes in unemployment benefits affect the child maintenance allowance you receive from Kela.

The changes will not affect your child maintenance allowance in the following situation:

• a court order or a maintenance agreement confirmed by the municipality or the wellbeing services county states that your child support is confirmed at the amount of the child increase payable with unemployment benefits
• the order or agreement also states the monetary amount of your child support.

In this situation, Kela will continue to pay you child maintenance allowance in the same way as before. No action is required from you.

If the amount of child support you receive has changed because of a new maintenance agreement or court order, submit the new document to Kela for a review of the child maintenance allowance.

The changes will affect your child maintenance allowance in the following situation:

• a court order or a maintenance agreement confirmed by the municipality or the wellbeing services county states that your child support is confirmed at the amount of the child increase payable with unemployment benefits
• the monetary amount of your child support is not stated in the order or agreement.

In this situation, Kela cannot pay you child maintenance allowance after 1 April 2024. The discontinuation of the child increases to unemployment benefits on 1 April 2024 means that your confirmed child support will cease to exist.

You can negotiate with the person responsible for maintenance about drafting a new maintenance agreement. In order to do so, contact the child welfare officer of your wellbeing services county.

If the amount of child support you receive has changed because of a new maintenance agreement or court order, submit the new document to Kela for a review of the child maintenance allowance.

If you have any questions about your child maintenance allowance, you can send us a message in the OmaKela e-service (in Finnish or Swedish) or call our customer service number 020 634 2550.

You do not have to contact Kela about the changes in unemployment benefits.

If you have questions about the unemployment benefits paid by Kela, you can contact us by sending a message in OmaKela or calling our customer service numbers.

If you do not have enough money for your expenses once the changes are in effect, use an online calculator (in Finnish or Swedish) to find out if you qualify for social assistance.

You can apply for social assistance if all your income and assets are not enough to cover your essential everyday expenses, such as food, housing and medication.

Before applying for social assistance, first find out if there are other sources of income or benefits that could be available to you, such as the general housing allowance. First claim all benefits to which you are entitled, including student loans.

If you are unemployed, you will usually receive either an earnings-related unemployment allowance, a basic unemployment allowance or a labour market subsidy. The work requirement determines which of the three benefits you receive. If you meet the work requirement, you can get a basic unemployment allowance from Kela or an earnings-related unemployment allowance from your unemployment fund. You can receive labour market subsidy from Kela if you do not meet the work requirement.

Meeting the work requirement means that you have worked to a sufficient extent before becoming unemployed. In addition, the work you do must meet certain other conditions in order to count towards the work requirement. When reviewing your application, Kela or the unemployment fund will check if the work you have done meets the work requirement. After the new rules are in effect, Kela will in most cases be able to refer to the Incomes Register to check if the work requirement is met.

The rules on how the work requirement is accrued for paid employment, wage-subsidised employment or employment-promoting services have changed on 2 September 2024. This is due to new legislation adopted by Parliament on changes to the employee work requirement. The changes will affect unemployed persons’ right to an earnings-related unemployment allowance or a basic unemployment allowance from Kela.

Previously, unemployed persons had to have worked for about 6 months prior to unemployment to qualify. This requirement will now be extended to 12 months. Also, under the new rules, the work requirement will accrue on the basis of wage income. Previously, a person had to have worked at least 18 hours a week in a calendar week for that week to count towards the work requirement.

If you have completed some but not all of the employee work requirement by 2 September 2024, it will be possible to combine the progress you have made towards the requirement under the old and the new rules. See below how the work requirement is calculated at different times.

The changes will apply only to the work requirement for employees. The work requirement for self-employed persons will not change in 2024.

If you meet the work requirement by 1 September 2024, your right to unemployment allowance will be determined on the basis of the old law. You must satisfy the following conditions to meet the work requirement:

• You have worked at least 26 weeks (about 6 months) during the reference period, i.e., the last 28 months.
• You have had at least 18 hours of work per week.
• Your pay has been consistent with the terms of the relevant collective agreement. If there is no relevant collective agreement, your wage must amount to at least EUR 1,399 per month as of 2024. The daily wage must be at least EUR 65.07 and the hourly wage at least EUR 8.13.

Your right to unemployment allowance is determined on the basis of the new law if the 28-month reference period begins on or after 2 September 2024.

In that case, your progress towards meeting the work requirement is linked to your earnings. You accumulate

• one month for each calendar month in which you earned at least EUR 930
• half a month for each calendar month in which you earned EUR 465–929.
• You meet the work requirement if you accumulate at least 12 qualifying months during the reference period.
• Your wage must be consistent with the relevant collective agreement. If there is no relevant collective agreement, your wage must amount to at least EUR 1,399 per month as of 2024. The daily wage must be at least EUR 65.07 and the hourly wage at least EUR 8.13.

The work requirement accumulates for the calendar month in which the wages are paid.

Just like before, the work requirement does not have to completed in a consecutive period of employment. All paid work done during a reference period of 28 months counts towards the requirement.

Also work done in another EU or EEA country, in Switzerland, in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland can count towards the work requirement.

If you complete only part of the old 26-week work requirement before 2 September 2024, the old and the new work requirement are added up.

This means that the weeks that you have accumulated towards the work requirement as of 1 September 2024 are converted into months in the following way:

• The number of weeks is divided by four. The result is rounded up to the nearest full or half month. This is the number of months that counts towards the new work requirement.
• Added to this are the months you accumulate towards the work requirement starting from 2 September 2024.
• Under the new rules, you must accumulate 12 months towards the work requirement. You meet the work requirement if you accumulate at least 12 months under the new and the old rules during the reference period (the last 28 months.

The old rules require 26 weeks of work (about 6 months), if the work requirement is fully met before 1 September 2024. The last week of work that counts towards the work requirement must be completed by 1 September 2024.

After that, you need 12 months of work to meet the work requirement. The 12-month work requirement applies if you become unemployed after 1 September 2024 and your wages for September 2024 (or any time after that) count towards the work requirement.

It will continue to be possible to accumulate the work requirement over a period longer than 28 months. This is the case for instance if you have been ill, have studied, have a child under 3 who you look after, or have participated in employment-promoting services.

Under the new rules, the calendar month in which you are paid counts towards the work requirement. For example, if you work in September but are paid in October, October will count towards the work requirement.

Only in certain exceptions is it possible to credit the month in which you actually performed the work. One such exception is if you are paid bonuses for a period longer than one month.

If you are paid late for reasons that have to do with your employer, your wages are for purposes of the work requirement recognised for the calendar month in which they are scheduled to be paid.

Starting from 2 September 2024, wage-subsidised work will usually not count towards the work requirement. Until now, 75 per cent of all wage-subsidised work has counted towards the requirement.

Under the changed legislation, wage-subsidised work will only count towards the work requirement if the work is intended to find employment for a person with reduced work ability or for a long-term unemployed person who is 60 years old or more. Even then, however, wage-subsidised work will only begin to count towards the work requirement after 10 months of work, and only 75 per cent of the work will count towards the requirement.

Nevertheless, the full duration of the wage-subsidised work will still count toward the reference period for the work requirement. If TE Services imposes an obligation of employment on a person who has been assigned a mandatory waiting period, those in wage-subsidised work will thus fulfil this obligation sooner than is now the case. Additionally, wage-subsidised work will count in full towards the qualifying period for the labour market subsidy.

Participation in employment-promoting services will no longer count towards the work requirement for employees.

The changes took effect on 2 September 2024. However, if the wage-subsidised work or employment-promoting service began on 1 September 2024 or earlier, it will still continue to count towards the work requirement.

You will not lose the 6-month work requirement you fulfilled before 2 September 2024. Working between periods of unemployment is worthwhile even with the change in the work requirement.

Your progress towards meeting the work requirement is checked the next time you apply for unemployment benefits. The 6-month work requirement is enough if you have not already received basic unemployment allowance for the maximum period of 300 or 400 days. This means that payment of your basic unemployment allowance will continue on the basis of the 6-month work requirement that you met earlier.

You do not have to contact Kela about the changes in the work requirement.

When reviewing your application, Kela or the unemployment fund will check if the work you have done meets the work requirement.

There have been changes to the housing costs that can be recognised under the social assistance scheme. The changes are due to a legislative amendment that entered into force on 1 April 2024. The amendment is largely in line with Kela’s practices: there are municipality-specific limits for reasonable housing costs. If a recipient of social assistance has housing costs that exceed the limit for their municipality, Kela will tell them that they need to look for more affordable housing within three months’ time, unless they have special grounds for staying in their current home.

If the customer does not move to more affordable housing within this time limit, their housing costs will be recognised up to the municipality-specific limit, which means that they will get paid less social assistance going forward. However, the time limit can be extended if there is a good reason for doing so.

If the customer continues to live in their current home, they themselves will have to pay for the portion of the housing costs that exceeds the limit.

The legislative amendment has not brought about any major changes to the current practices. Above all, it has clarified the criteria for recognising housing costs by codifying them in an act and a decree. However, the amendment has also tightened some of the criteria for recognising housing costs that exceed the municipality-specific limits.

Read more about the change in this Kela press release: Legislative amendment to enter into force: more social assistance recipients will be asked to seek more affordable housing

Have your housing costs previously exceeded the municipality-specific limits for housing costs and has Kela recognised your housing costs in full? As of 1 April 2024, we will take your housing costs into account only up to the municipality-specific limit unless you have special grounds, as defined in the Act, to live in housing where the housing costs exceed the limit. You will have three months to look for more affordable housing. After that, the amount of social assistance you receive may be reduced. You can estimate the amount of your social assistance with the social assistance calculator (in Finnish or Swedish).

Special grounds for living in housing where the housing costs exceed the municipality-specific limits include

• the advanced age or poor health of the benefit recipient or a family member,
• a non-custodial parent’s need for additional space for parent-child visits,
• a school-age child with special needs, where continued attendance at the same school is in the child’s best interests.

However, if there is no housing that meets the criteria for recognised housing costs available in the area where the recipient lives, this no longer constitutes special grounds under the new amendment. The customer must be able to prove that they have looked for more affordable housing using all the means at their disposal. If the customer fails to find more affordable housing within 3 months despite actively looking for it, the time limit can be extended.

Until this amendment entered into force, Kela has been able to use discretion in cases where housing costs have exceeded the municipality-specific limits by a small amount. Kela has considered about 5 per cent to be a small amount. Since the amendment entered into force, it is no longer possible for Kela to use discretion.

The reason for the request is that your housing costs exceed the municipality-specific amounts recognised under the social assistance scheme and that you have not presented any proof of special grounds for exceeding the limits.

You can start your search for more affordable housing by looking at rental housing owned by your municipality or by private owners. If you need help finding more affordable housing, you can contact the housing counselling services provided by the municipality where you live or by some other organization. Customers who receive social assistance from Kela can receive assistance with their moving costs and with a rental security deposit, on the condition that the rent for the new home does not exceed the limits set for the municipality.

If you do not move to more affordable housing, we will take your housing costs into account up to the municipality-specific limit going forward. This means that you do not have to move, but if you do not move, you yourself will have to pay for the portion of your housing costs that exceeds the limit.

If you are having trouble coping with everyday expenses or if you have social problems, you should contact the social services office of your wellbeing services county. You can apply for supplementary or preventive social assistance from the social services office if you need it.

You can always contact Kela if you have questions about Kela’s benefits or if you want to talk about your situation. We can also arrange talks with a social services expert from the wellbeing services county.

Read also: Social assistance can be granted for reasonable housing costs – Kela does not ask anyone to move