A shared household or two separate households?
Getting divorced or separated affects your benefits from Kela if you are living permanently separate from your partner because the relationship has ended and you no longer have a shared household.
If you continue to live together during the period of reconsideration preceding a divorce or after you are divorced, you are considered to be sharing a household.
Even if you live separately, you and your spouse are considered to be sharing a household if the reason for the separation is, for example, that one of you works or studies in a different town or city. You are considered to be sharing a household even if this goes on for years.
Which benefits are affected by divorce or separation?
A child whose parents are divorced or separated is entitled to child support from the parent who does not live with the child. Kela can pay the custodial parent child maintenance allowance if the other parent does not pay child support or if the amount of the child support is smaller than the full child maintenance allowance paid by Kela.
Your application must be accompanied by a maintenance agreement confirmed by a child welfare officer or a court decision regarding child support. Obtain the necessary document before applying for the benefit.
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Claim - Child maintenance allowance LU 1e (pdf) to your device and then fill in the application. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If you get divorced or separate from your partner, you can apply for a single-parent supplement to the child benefit. You can get this supplement even if you and the child's other parent have joint custody.
Apply for a single-parent supplement to the child benefit
How can I apply for a single-parent supplement to the child benefit? (in Finnish)
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Application - Child Benefit LL 1e (pdf) to your device and then fill in the application. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If you receive child home care allowance or private day care allowance and are paid a care supplement, the amount of the care supplement depends on the size of your family and your family’s income. If you get divorced or separate from your partner, your allowance must be reviewed. Please inform us of any changes to the size of your family.
How can I apply for a review of my allowance? (in Finnish)
Jos et voi käyttää OmaKelaa, tallenna kotihoidon ja yksityisen hoidon tuen lomakkeella WH 1 (pdf) laitteellesi ja täytä se tallentamisen jälkeen. Lähetä tulostettu lomake ja liitteet osoitteeseen Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If the number of residents in your apartment or house changes, your general housing allowance or housing allowance for pensioners must be reviewed.
How can I apply for a review of my allowance? (in Finnish)
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, apply for a review of your housing allowance on one of the following forms:
- the form Application - General housing allowance AT 1e (pdf)
- the form Application - Housing allowance for pensioners AE 1e (pdf)
Send the form and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Use an online calculator to estimate the amount of housing allowance available to you
Use one of the following calculators to see how much housing allowance you can get after the change in your family circumstances:
The amount of social assistance depends on the income and assets as well as expenses of all family members. If you separate from your spouse or partner, your social assistance must be reviewed.
How can I apply for a review of my social assistance? (in Finnish)
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Application - Social assistance TO 1e (pdf) to your device and then fill in the application. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Use an online calculator to estimate the change in the amount of your social assistance. The calculator is available in Finnish and Swedish.
You get a larger national pension if you live alone. Apply for a review of your national pension if you are no longer married or cohabiting.
How can I apply for a review of my pension? (in Finnish)
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Application for review - National pension / Guarantee pension E285e (pdf) to your device and then fill in the application. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Child increase to pensions
If after the divorce or separation you no longer live in the same household as your child who is under the age of 16, you may no longer be able to receive the child increase to your pension. In such a situation, you must apply for a review of the child increase.
Save the form Application - Child increase for pensioners EV264e (pdf) to your device and fill it in. Print out the completed form and send it along with any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If a student lives with their parents and the parents separate, the amount of student financial aid available to the student may change. Find out how parental income affects student financial aid.
How can I apply for a review of my allowance? (in Finnish)
OmaKela is only available in Finnish and Swedish. If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Notification of changes - Financial aid for students OT 15e (pdf) to your device and then fill in the application. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If an adult lives with their parents and the parents separate, the separation may affect the labour market subsidy of the adult child.
Labour market subsidy payments are only affected by the income of the parent with whom the child is living. If one of the parents leaves the household, the child must report the change in their next unemployment status report.
If you have a child who cannot use OmaKela, they can save the form Unemployment status report TT 2e (pdf) to their device and fill it in. They should then print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If you separate from your spouse or partner, it may affect the amount of your conscript’s allowance.
How can I apply for a review of my allowance? (in Finnish)
If you cannot use OmaKela, save the form Hakemus - Sotilasavustus SA 1 (pdf) to your device and fill in the application. Both OmaKela and the form are only available in Finnish and Swedish. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.