26/6/2024Proposal to end the payment of national pensions to recipients outside Finland in 2025: How pensioners would be affectedThe Government’s proposal for ending the payment of national pensions to recipients outside Finland is being circulated for comments. If the proposal is adopted, Kela will stop paying old-age and disability pensions to recipients in other EU or EEA countries or in Switzerland or Great Britain with effect from the beginning of 2025. The proposed change does not apply to survivors’ pensions, child increases or front-veterans’ supplements, nor will it affect the payment of earnings-related pensions.Press release24/6/2024Kela will join this summer’s Pride events around FinlandThis summer, Kela will be making Pride visible in its operations in many different ways. Kela takes an active approach to promoting diversity and equity, which are part of its social responsibility agenda.Press release24/6/2024Kela proposes a personal doctor/personal nurse model as basis for reimbursement systemKela views positively the new model for Kela reimbursements proposed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which the Ministry recently circulated for comments. However, Kela would like to see the proposed model developed further towards a designated personal doctor/personal nurse arrangement, which would ensure the continuity of care without significant additional cost.Press release20/6/2024Changes in the accrual of the employee work requirement for wage-subsidised work and participation in employment-promoting services as of 2 September 2024As of 2 September 2024, participation in employment-promoting services will no longer count towards the work requirement. Periods of wage-subsidised work will count towards the work requirement only in certain cases. At the same time, the earnings-related unemployment allowance will be graduated so that the sum of the allowance decreases as the duration of unemployment grows.Press release17/6/2024Amendment of Kela’s governing lawScheduled to take effect on 1 July 2024, the amended law governing Kela’s operations highlights the role of Kela’s Board and Parliamentary Trustees. Director General Outi Antila of Kela expects that the focus will next shift to the provisions of the law that concern the utilisation of data.Press release12/6/2024Tax refunds may affect social assistanceSocial assistance is a last-resort form of financial aid, which is affected by all the income and assets available to the applicants and their families, including tax refunds. Most customers will receive their tax refund in August or September.Press release6/6/2024Kela.fi family benefits section updated – check that links still workThe family benefits section on Kela’s website has been updated.Press release4/6/2024Will you enter military service in July? Apply for conscript's allowance nowKela can pay conscript’s allowance to persons who perform military service or alternative non-military service and their family members. It is worthwhile to apply for conscript's allowance about one month before entering service.Press release3/6/2024Summer means changes to the opening hours of Kela’s customer service pointsIt is a good idea to handle Kela-related matters in our e-service My Kela or by phone also in summer. The opening hours of many of Kela’s customer service points will change for the summer.Press release3/6/2024Many students will have their housing allowance reduced following annual review of the general housing allowanceKela reviews the general housing allowance at least once a year even if there have been no changes to the household’s circumstances. For many students, this annual review is carried out in August or September. Due to the recent cuts to the general housing allowance, this time the review will lead to a reduction in the amount of housing allowance.Press release24/5/2024Kela to end loan guarantees under the adult education allowance scheme for new studies starting in August 2024 or laterParliament has approved the discontinuation of the adult education allowance. Following the changes in legislation, Kela will no longer grant loan guarantees under the adult education allowance scheme for studies starting in August or later.Press release23/5/2024Job alternation leave scheme will shut down in August 2024The last day for starting a job alternation leave is 31 July 2024. After that, it will no longer be possible to take a job alternation leave or to receive job alternation compensation.Press release22/5/2024Outi Antila, Kela’s Director General: “As experts on social security, we stand for trust, information and security in society”Kela’s annual report and financial statement for 2023 show how for instance the inflation and the energy crisis affected Kela’s operations. Kela paid a total of €16.6 billion in benefits during 2023.Press release22/5/2024Raised income limits for interest assistance for student loans - the number of recipients of interest assistance has increased in recent yearsThe income limits for interest assistance for student loans were raised at the beginning of the year, so an increasing number of persons have the possibility of getting assistance from Kela for interest payments on student loans. In 2023, the number of recipients of interest assistance increased significantly following higher interest rates and larger loan amounts.Press release20/5/2024Changes to legislation concerning occupational health and safety of pregnant workers – grounds for granting special pregnancy allowance stay the sameA decree enacted in April clarifies matters relating to the health and safety of pregnant workers. The changes will not affect the grounds on which Kela grants special pregnancy allowance.Press release22/4/2024Social assistance can be granted for reasonable housing costs – Kela does not ask anyone to moveRecently, many customers have contacted Kela to ask if they have to move out of their current home if the housing costs exceed the maximum limits acceptable for the purposes of social assistance. Kela does not ask anyone to move, but social assistance does not necessarily cover all housing costs if the costs exceed the maximum limit set for the municipality.Press release4/4/2024Modernisation of Kela benefit administration systems moves forward into negotiation phaseKela is modernising the information systems it uses for benefit administration and is now starting negotiations with suppliers.Press release26/3/2024Information leaflet on changes to benefits available for customer guidance in several different languagesOn 1 April 2024, cuts will be made to the general housing allowance and unemployment benefits available from Kela. The benefits of around half a million customers will be affected. Our new information leaflets provide information on the changes in several languages.Press release5/12/2023Take care of Kela-matters in advance – the holiday season affects benefit payment datesWe recommend that you handle any Kela matters well in advance before Christmas. The holiday season affects payment dates of Kela-benefits and the first few weeks of the new year is a busy time at Kela.Press release31/10/2023Kela to test speech-to-text interpretation in the remote service of the Centre for Interpreting Services for the DisabledKela will test a model where services and remote interpretation will be available through speech-to-text interpretation in the remote service of the Centre for Interpreting Services for the Disabled. The aim is to investigate how well-suited speech-to-text interpretation is for the remote service. Press release123456page 1/6