Large number of changes planned for social security in 2025
Next year will see several changes to Kela benefits, affecting both benefit rates and eligibility criteria. Some of the changes have already been approved by Parliament, but most of the legislative amendments will be submitted to parliamentary review in the autumn.
Kela will actively inform its customers of any upcoming changes throughout the autumn. This article contains the information currently available on the planned and already approved changes to various benefits.
The upcoming changes to social security benefits were outlined in the Government programme and during the Government’s budget deliberations at the beginning of September. The Ministries will prepare the Government’s proposals, which will then be submitted to Parliament. Kela’s task is to implement the legislative amendments approved by Parliament.
The Government is planning to increase the initial deductible for medicine expenses from EUR 50 to EUR 70. In addition, the initial deductible would be tied to the National Pensions Index, which would increase the initial deductible every year going forward.
The annual deductible for medicine expenses (now EUR 626.94 per year) will be increased in line with the National Pensions Index.
Increases to the reimbursements from Kela for the costs for private medical care are being prepared. The reimbursement from Kela for appointments with a private general practitioner would be increased from EUR 30 to EUR 50. The reimbursement from Kela would also be available for specialist consultations if a general practitioner has issued a referral for them. A referral would not be needed for appointments with an ophthalmologist, gynecologist or psychiatrist. Fertility treatments and physiotherapy are returning to the scope of reimbursements from Kela in 2025.
In addition, the Government is planning to change the grounds for calculating sickness allowances. The change in the grounds for calculating sickness allowances would reduce the rates of sickness allowances paid to both individual and employer customers, especially in higher income categories. The change would also affect rehabilitation allowances and partial sickness allowances.
The pensions paid by Kela (national pension and guarantee pension), along with disability allowances and front-veterans’ supplements, are routinely increased each year in line with the National Pensions Index. The percentage of increase will become known on 14 October 2024, when Kela is scheduled to confirm the National Pensions Index that will be applied starting 1 January 2025.
The Government is planning that Kela will stop paying old-age and disability pensions to recipients in other EU or EEA countries or in Switzerland or the United Kingdom in 2025. At the same time, the right to care allowance for pensioners would end. The change would not apply to survivors’ pensions, child increases or front-veterans’ supplements, nor will it affect the payment of earnings-related pensions.
The Government is also planning to increase the impact that assets and income have on the rate of the housing allowance for pensioners. In the Government’s draft proposal, it is estimated that the housing allowance for pensioners will decrease by an average of EUR 15 per month for approximately 200,000 recipients.
The amounts of the heating, water and maintenance costs or maximum housing costs taken into account in the housing allowance for pensioners will not be increased in 2025. The amounts will stay the same as in 2023 and 2024.
Parliament has already decided that, as of 1 January 2025, general housing allowance will no longer be available for housing costs for owner-occupied homes, such as maintenance charges, maintenance costs for single-family homes and interest payments on housing loans.
The Government is also planning to introduce a household-specific asset limit for the general housing allowance. This means that the amount of general housing allowance would be affected by the assets of the household, such as bank deposits, real estate, forests and shares in a housing cooperative. However, assets such as a summer cottage in the household’s own use, shares in an undivided estate or deposits on an ASP (home saver’s bonus) account would not be taken into account.
In addition, preparations are underway to change the municipal categories that are used to calculate the maximum housing costs allowed under the general housing allowance scheme. Kajaani, Kouvola, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Pori and Vaasa would be transferred from the municipal category II to the municipal category III. The change would reduce the amounts of general housing allowance paid in these municipalities.
The Government is planning to transfer students from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme on 1 August 2025. However, students with children would remain within the scope of the general housing allowance scheme. Currently, about 40 per cent of the households receiving general housing allowance are students.
Next year, the basic unemployment allowance and the labour market subsidy will be EUR 37.21 per day, as in 2023 and 2024. Last autumn, Parliament decided that unemployment benefits will not be increased in line with the National Pensions Index between 2024 and 2027.
The Government is planning that, as of next year, unemployment benefits will no longer be paid at an increased rate for the duration of employment-promoting services. Currently, unemployment benefits can be paid at a rate increased by a supplementary amount during participation in employment-promoting services. The supplementary amount payable with the labour market subsidy, the basic unemployment allowance and the earnings-related unemployment allowance is EUR 5.29 per day (EUR 111 per month on average).
The Government is also planning to reduce the labour market subsidy rates for persons who live with their parents. Currently, the amount of labour market subsidy can be reduced by half if parental income exceeds a certain income limit. In 2025, the amount could be reduced by a larger share, so that the final sum would be one third of the full amount.
The basic amounts of basic social assistance will be increased in line with the National Pensions Index on 1 January 2025. The percentage of the index adjustment will become known on 14 October 2024, when Kela is scheduled to confirm the National Pensions Index that will be applied starting 1 January 2025.
The Government is planning that persons with low income will receive social assistance for extra food expenses caused by coeliac disease. For purposes of social assistance paid by Kela, food expenses caused by coeliac disease could be taken into account at the amount of EUR 25 per month. The amount would apply to each family member with coeliac disease who is 16 or older.
The Government is planning to transfer students from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme on 1 August 2025. This would mean a return to the previous practice. The maximum rate of the housing supplement would be EUR 216 per month, EUR 248 per month or EUR 296 per month, depending on the municipality in which the student lives.
Study grant rates will not be index adjusted. Instead, the rates will stay the same as in 2023 and 2024.
In addition, the Government is planning to limit the eligibility for school transport subsidy. It would only be available to students who are entitled to free upper secondary level education. The change would take effect on 1 August 2025.
The Government is planning to raise the minimum age limit for the national pension, the guarantee pension, the rehabilitation allowance (including the rehabilitation allowance for young persons), the disability allowance and the sickness allowance from 16 to 18 years. Going forward, the disability pension and the rehabilitation subsidy would be available from the age of 18. The change would not affect young persons who already receive these benefits. Instead, it would affect persons born in or after 2009.
Vocational rehabilitation for young persons is intended to become more strictly targeted at young persons who are not in school or work or who are otherwise at risk of social exclusion. However, rehabilitation could continue to be granted without a formal diagnosis of illness or disability.
As a rule, participation in coaching services in connection with vocational rehabilitation for young persons (Nuotti coaching) would no longer make participants eligible for rehabilitation allowance.
There will be no increases to child benefits in 2025.
The minimum rates of daily allowances for parents, the rates of child care allowances and the income limits applicable to these allowances will not be index adjusted at the turn of the year. Instead, the rates of these allowances will remain the same as in 2023 and 2024.
Child maintenance allowances and child support payments will be increased in line with the Cost-of-Living Index on 1 January 2025.
Kela will update its website at kela.fi with further details of the changes as the preparations proceed. Once the Government’s proposal has been submitted to Parliament, we will publish an article on it in Finnish, Swedish and English at kela.fi. When a change has been confirmed, we will put out a press release. All of these articles and press releases will be posted on the kela.fi/changes page.
At the turn of the year, Kela’s website will be updated with information about the changes in Finnish, Swedish and English, as well as in easy language, in Sámi and in Finnish and Finland-Swedish Sign Language. We will release brochures in easy language for our customers and partners in the beginning of 2025.