Are you in your teens or a young adult and worried about your future due to a chronic illness or disability?

Seven benefits Kela offers to young people with a disability or chronic illness

1. Disability allowance for persons aged 16 years or over: If you are about to turn 16, you can check if you can apply for disability allowance for persons aged 16 years or over. Please note that the qualifying criteria for this disability allowance differ from those that apply to the disability allowance for persons under 16 years of age you may have been paid until now. This means that the benefit might not be granted to you or you may be paid less than before.

   • Your application must be accompanied by a recent medical statement C issued within the last six months. If you do not have one, you can enclose some other medical statement, such as a medical statement B or a copy of your medical records, as long as it contains the information needed to decide on your application. We need information on your illnesses, your current functional capacity and your health.
2. Vocational rehabilitation: If your dream is to study or find employment, you can get vocational rehabilitation from Kela to help you discover suitable study and career options. Oma Väylä rehabilitation might be a good fit for you if you are aged between 16 and 29 and you need help with your studies, work or life management skills due to a neurodevelopmental disorder (such as Asperger syndrome, ADD or ADHD).
3. Financial assistance during rehabilitation: If you are 18 years of age or older, you can get financial support in the form of rehabilitation allowance for the duration of your rehabilitation. If you were born in or before 2008, the minimum age limit for this rehabilitation allowance is 16. If you are 18 or 19 and you need special support due to your illness or disability, you can get rehabilitation allowance for young persons from Kela. If you were born in or before 2008, the minimum age limit for this rehabilitation allowance is 16. Kela can also provide compensation for study costs and tuition fees.

   • In order to get rehabilitation allowance for young persons, you must have a personal education and rehabilitation plan (KU 110, PDF in Finnish) prepared by your wellbeing services county.
   • Your application must also be accompanied by a medical statement B describing how your health affects your ability to work and your career choices.
4. Sickness allowance: If you develop depression or some other illness after you have turned 18 and you cannot work or study due to your illness, you can get sickness allowance. If you were born in or before 2008, the minimum age limit for sickness allowance is 16. If your illness persists for a long time, Kela will evaluate if rehabilitation could be of help to you.
5. Rehabilitation subsidy and disability pension: If your illness or disability prevents you from working for a prolonged period of time, you can apply for rehabilitation subsidy (i.e. time-limited disability pension) or permanent disability pension.

   • If you are under 20 years of age and you apply for rehabilitation subsidy or disability pension, we will first determine if you can get rehabilitation allowance for young persons and rehabilitation instead.
6. Care allowance for pensioners: If you are paid a disability pension and you need help or guidance in your daily life, for example with your hygiene, medical treatment or communication, you may have the right to care allowance for pensioners as well.
7. Housing allowance: After you move out on your own, you can apply for general housing allowance if you rent your new home on a permanent basis. Students will be transferred from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme on 1 August 2025. If you are paid a disability pension, you can get housing allowance for pensioners.

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