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What
is Residence?
Finnish
Residence-based Social Security
Financial Aid for Students
Employment-based
Social Security in Finland
Additional
Information
See
also: If You Become Unemployed
In Finland, social security is financed
by tax.
Statutory social security is divided into residence-based
social security and employment-based social security.
Most social security in Finland is based on residence,
i.e. the benefits can be claimed only by those who live
in Finland. Residence-based social security is administered
by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA).
Finnish
Residence-based Social Security
If you are a resident
in Finland you are entitled to social security provided
by the Social Insurance Institution, KELA.
A KELA card, entitling the owner to
coverage under the Finnish residence-based social security
scheme must be applied for from KELA. Download
the application here (pdf)
The application should be submitted
to the applicant’s KELA office in his or her home
municipality. The applicant will then be given a written
decision on the matter, which can be appealed. If the
decision is positive a KELA card will also be sent to the
applicant. Individual benefits may be applied for by
using separate forms.
Finnish Social Security
Benefits
If a person is regarded as a resident
they are entitled to apply for the following KELA benefits
in the same way as Finns:
- family allowance
- student financial aid
- maternity allowance
- sickness allowance
- cash benefits for parents
- reimbursement of medical expenses
- unemployment benefit / allowance (non-earnings related)
- labour market subsidy
- child care subsidies
- disability allowance
- rehabilitation and rehabilitation allowance
- national pension (non-earnings related)
- family pension (non-earnings related)
- pensioner’s housing allowance
- general housing allowance
- private day-care and child home care allowance
- school transportation subsidy
See Additional Information for more...
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Student
Allowance / Financial Aid
(Source: Financial
Aid for Students at the KELA
web site)
Student financial aid is intended to provide an income to financially needy students whose parents are not under obligation to finance their studies and who are not eligible for aid under some other provisions. In order to qualify, you must be a full-time student, make satisfactory academic progress, and be in need of financial assistance.
Financial aid is available in the form of study grants, housing supplements and government guarantees for student loans. Study grant and housing supplement are government-financed benefits with monthly payments to the student´s bank. The study grant is subject to tax. If you are granted a government loan guarantee, you can apply for a student loan with a bank of your choice. The bank will contact KELA to check the loan guarantee details.
Foreign students (see also Centre for International Mobility)
Non-citizens of Finland can get financial aid for studies in Finland if they live in Finland on a permanent basis for a purpose other than studying. This requires that they are registered as a permanent resident in the Finnish population register system. The purpose of residence in Finland is determined by reference to such matters as the residence permit, registration or acceptance to an educational institution. Applications for financial aid must be accompanied by the appendix form OT10 for foreign residents.
If you come to Finland solely for the purpose of attending a school, you cannot get Finnish student financial aid.
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Employment-based
Social Security in Finland
Social security based on employment
includes earnings-related unemployment allowance, accident
insurance and security against occupational accidents
and illnesses. Private insurance companies and the Finnish
Centre for Pensions deal with matters related to employment-based
social security.
Earnings-related
Unemployment Allowance
The unemployment funds operated by
trade unions pay an unemployment allowance for their
unemployed members. The amount of the allowance is determined
by your salary before unemployment and is usually higher
than the unemployment allowance provided by KELA. You
can receive an earnings-related allowance for about
two years. The requirement is that you have joined the
unemployment fund at least ten months before the termination
of your employment and have paid your membership fees.
Because of this, you should immediately find out which
unemployment fund you can join after finding a job.
See also: Trade
Unions
Earnings-related
Pensions
The
Finnish Centre for Pensions is the central body
of the Finnish statutory earnings-related pension scheme.
Pension insurance is an obligation for both employers
and entrepreneurs.
The employer is liable to take out
insurance for all his employees and to pay the insurance
contributions to an authorised pension provider* on
behalf of the employee. In practice, the employer takes
care of the insurance and, in addition to taxes, takes
the pension fees straight out of the employee’s
salary. The length of the employment contract has no
significance. The obligation to take out insurance also
concerns private households when they act as employers.
*Authorised pension providers are either insurance
companies, company pension funds, industry-wide pension
funds or other similar pension funds.
Salaried employees are covered by the
occupational pension system, and farmers and entrepreneurs
are covered by their own employee pension systems. Both
pension systems include old-age pension, disability
pension, individual early-retirement pension and unemployment
pension. Your profession and type of employment define
which pension law is applied.
A self-employed person should take out insurance himself
or herself. The obligation to take out insurance starts
when the self-employment has continued for four months.
The self-employed person’s insurance contributions
are based on the confirmed income from self-employment
and not for instance on the company’s turnover.
More information on self–employed person's insurance
Visit: The
Finnish Centre for Pensions (Eläketurvakeskus)
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Additional Social Security Information:
- Comprehensive information on all residence-based benefits is available
in English, Finnish & Swedish at the Social Insurance Institution of Finland's web site: KELA
- A detailed overview of social security benefits is available in the
KELA publication
A
Guide To Benefits (2004 - pdf).
- Many KELA forms, including an application for a KELA card, can be downloaded at Suomi.fi
(search under The Social Insurance Institution
of Finland)
- Expat Finland's Healthcare
page provides additional information on social and
health services
- The web site of the Ministry of Social Affairs & Health provides great detail on Finland's welfare state policy
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