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16.4.2026 | The Government proposes amendments to the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances. The proposal would implement the Norwegian model for child home care allowance. The proposal seeks to promote the integration and labour market position of women with an immigrant background and to increase the participation of children in early childhood education and care.

17.2.2026 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is requesting comments on a proposal to amend the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances. The proposal seeks to promote the integration and employment of women with an immigrant background and to implement the so‑called Norwegian model for child home care allowance, in line with the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petter Orpo.

Finnish social security system The Finnish social security system includes benefits and support that protect people’s livelihoods, as well as the provision of health and social services and employment services. Social security provides income secu...

Social security and services for people applying for and receiving international protection in Finland People applying for international protection leave their home countries for various reasons, for example, to escape war, persecution or insecuri...

Immigrants' social security, welfare and health The MSAH is responsible for matters concerning the welfare and health of immigrants living in Finland. The Ministry deals with the basic security of immigrants, essential social and health services i...

Legislation concerning income security The Finnish Constitution guarantees the right of all people living in Finland to Adequate social and health services Basic income security Essential subsistence and care. There is a range of legislation gover...

Family benefits The purpose of the benefit system for children and families is to safeguard the subsistence of the child and those responsible for his or her care, and to support the care of the child. The benefits are applied for at the Social In...

Social services The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for Finland’s social policy and prepares legislation on social welfare. Social welfare covers promoting social security and wellbeing and taking care of social welfare duties...

Healthcare and social welfare for undocumented persons When it comes to the organisation of healthcare and social welfare, it should be noted that there are people residing both legally and illegally in Finland who are usually referred to as undoc...

Healthcare and social welfare for illegal residents Illegal residents mean persons who have no right of residence in Finland according to the Aliens Act. An asylum seeker’s residence in Finland is considered unauthorised when a decision to reject ...

26.1.2026 | Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö pyytää lausuntoja esitysluonnoksesta, joka sisältää sosiaaliturvaa yhdenmukaistavia muutoksia. Ehdotukset koskevat Kansaneläkelaitoksen kuntoutus- ja kuntoutusrahaetuuksien yhdenmukaistamista, Kansaneläkelaitoksen soveltamien etuuslakien menettelytapasäännöksiä sekä työttömyysetuuden sovittelua koskevan säännöksen selkeyttämistä. Lausuntoja voi antaa 8.3.2026 saakka.

15.1.2026 | In the first stage, the general social security benefit will be a new social security benefit for unemployed jobseekers, replacing the existing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. The legislation on the general social security benefit is scheduled to enter into force on 1 May 2026.

5.1.2026 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health invites comments on the integration support. The comments should be submitted by 16 February 2026.

15.1.2026 | The changes to be made to social assistance will, for example, strengthen the obligations of recipients to apply for full-time work and primary benefits. The overall reform of social assistance aims to clarify the role of social assistance as a last-resort and temporary form of assistance, prevent social exclusion among young people and strengthen general government finances.

30.10.2025 | Officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health have prepared a healthcare and social welfare 2040 vision to outline their view of the long-term direction of health and social services in Finland. The aim is to ensure that, in future, people in Finland will continue to receive effective, equal and sustainable services which they can trust.

8.10.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is requesting comments on a proposal to amend the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances. According to the proposal, child home care allowance could in future be granted after a minimum of three years’ residence in Finland. The amendment would implement the Norwegian model for child home care allowance as outlined in the Programme of Prime Minister Orpo's Government. The deadline for submitting comments is 20 November.

17.12.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is requesting comments on a draft government proposal that seeks to prevent intentional misuse of social welfare benefits, reduce incorrect social welfare payments and promote information exchange with the Social Insurance Institution (Kela). Statements may be submitted until 28 January 2026.

22.9.2025 | The Government has submitted a proposal to Parliament for an act on general social security benefit. In the first stage, the general social security benefit would be a new social security benefit for unemployed jobseekers, replacing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. The legislation concerning the general social security benefit is scheduled to enter into force on 1 May 2026.

4.7.2025 | Starting from 1 September 2025, persons aged 65 and over can book a private healthcare appointment and pay only a deductible that is equal to the client fee charged for public healthcare services. The pilot is based on developing the reimbursements paid by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). The President of the Republic approved the legislative amendments enabling the pilot on 4 July 2025.

22.9.2025 | The Government proposes a comprehensive reform of social assistance. The changes to be made would, for example, strengthen the obligations of recipients to apply for full-time work and primary benefits. The aim is to clarify the role of social assistance as a last-resort and temporary form of assistance, prevent social exclusion among young people and strengthen general government finances.

22.9.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has today published three memorandums assessing the combined impacts of the Government’s changes to social security during this parliamentary term. The memorandums focus particularly on the impacts of the comprehensive reform of social assistance.

8.8.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health proposes appropriations of EUR 14.8 billion for the Ministry and its branch of government for 2026. This is about EUR 475 million less than in the 2025 Budget. The funding of wellbeing services counties is not included in the appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its branch of government. Instead, it falls under the main title of the Ministry of Finance.

8.10.2025 | Finland and Uruguay have signed a social security agreement between the two countries in Montevideo on 7 October 2025. As regards Finland, the agreement applies to the earnings-related pension scheme, and as regards Uruguay, to the pension schemes for employees.

22.9.2025 | The Finnish Government proposes EUR 14.8 billion in appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its branch of government for 2026. This is about EUR 0.5 billion less than in the 2025 Budget.

10.4.2024 | On 9 April 2024, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appointed a working group to prepare a package of measures to facilitate immigrant integration, and a language allowance for inclusion in labour market support, as outlined in the Government Programme.

2.10.2023 | Estonia and Finland seek to increase the electronic exchange of information on the social security of workers moving between the two countries. The aim is to improve the implementation of social security and to prevent errors and abuse. 

23.9.2024 | The Finnish Government proposes about EUR 15.2 billion in appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its administrative branch for 2025. This is about EUR 1.1 billion less than in 2024.

8.5.2025 | The series of social security dialogues held by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Timeout Foundation brought out a wide variety of views and development suggestions from citizens on the future of social security. The outcomes of the dialogues will be presented at a webinar on 15 May 2025.

9.5.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on a draft government proposal concerning the general social security benefit by 19 June 2025. This is the first stage of the extensive social security reform where different basic social security benefits will be gradually combined into a single general social security benefit.

16.5.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on the comprehensive reform of the Social Assistance Act by 27 June 2025. The amendments to the Act would strengthen, for example, the obligations of recipients to apply for primary benefits and full-time work. The aim is to reinforce the role of social assistance as a last-resort and temporary form of assistance and to strengthen general government finances.

10.12.2024 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Timeout Foundation are hosting a series of 25 Timeout dialogues to discuss the future of social security. The aim is to increase public debate on social security, strengthen dialogue between various parties, increase citizens’ participation in the social security reform, and produce information to support decision-making.

28.6.2022 | Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen will visit Tallinn on 29 June to meet with Estonia’s Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo. The topics to be discussed include the situation of Ukrainian refugees and the social security systems in both countries and developing them. 

10.4.2024 | Finland and Uruguay have started negotiations to conclude a social security agreement between the two countries. The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate the operation of Finnish companies in Uruguay.

28.5.2020 | I have launched a reform of the Act on Social Assistance and appointed a working group to carry it out. Now is the right time for reform. We have been gathering experiences from the transfer of basic social assistance to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) over the past few years. In doing so, we have found several areas that need fixing.

13.1.2022 | The number of parental leave days will increase and there will be more flexibility for parents to take leave. The reform aims to increase equality in working life and between parents and to take better account of different types of families. The new types of parental leave will mainly apply to families where the child’s estimated date of birth is 4 September 2022 or later.   

26.3.2024 | Finland’s social security reform aims to streamline and simplify the social security system and to introduce more incentives for work. During this parliamentary term, the social security reform will include both government projects and the work of the Social Security Committee.

17.6.2020 | The purpose of the temporary compensation is to support the most vulnerable persons and families who have incurred extra costs as a result of the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus epidemic.

13.12.2023 | The parliamentary Social Security Committee will meet for the first time during its second term on Thursday 14 December 2023.

17.1.2022 | The Social Security Committee started its preparations for a social security reform by identifying problems in the current social security system and by describing its choices and basic principles. The results of this work are now published in five reports compiled by the committee’s five divisions. 

5.6.2020 | The Government wants to secure the financing of unemployment benefits under the emergency conditions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.

12.10.2023 | The Government has submitted to Parliament a proposal for amending the Act on the General Housing Allowance. The proposed amendments concern lowering the reimbursement rate of the allowance, tightening the effect of the income that affects the allowance, and abolishing the earned income allowance and the support for owner-occupied housing.

8.9.2023 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on a draft bill that proposes amendments to the Act on General Housing Allowance. The proposed amendments would concern lowering the reimbursement rate of the allowance, tightening the effect of the income that affects the allowance, and abolishing the earned income allowance and the support for owner-occupied housing.

20.5.2020 | The Government proposes a temporary increase in the exempt amount of the unemployment benefit. Eligibility for commuting and relocation allowance for full-time work would be amended temporarily by decreasing the distance required for daily commuting.

17.9.2020 | The Social Security Committee, which started work in spring 2020, will first determine which social security problems it will seek to solve. Before the summer holidays, the Committee outlined four sets of key social security problems: 1) the complexity of social security; 2) combining employment and social security; 3) minimum social security, basic social security and housing; and 4) coordination of services and benefits.

11.6.2020 | The exempt amount of the unemployment benefit will be temporarily raised. Eligibility for commuting and relocation allowance for full-time work will be temporarily amended by decreasing the distance required for daily commuting.

19.12.2019 | The age limit for the extension on unemployment benefit will rise by one year for those born in or after 1961. In future, unemployed persons born in or after 1961 will be entitled to extended unemployment allowance at the age of 62 instead of 61, as is currently the case.

29.6.2020 | The financial position of people in need of unemployment security will be strengthened in a situation where many have been unemployed or laid off. The central government will temporarily contribute to the financing of earnings-related allowances.

5.6.2020 | The proposal aims to strengthen the financial position of people in need of unemployment security in a situation where many have become unemployed or have been laid off.

5.6.2020 | In accordance with the principles of the Social Security Committee, all those involved in the Committee’s work must have at their disposal the same information about social security. This places the preparation and decision-making processes related to the reform on an equal footing. We want also other people to be able to monitor and assess the preparation and decision-making concerning the reform on the basis of the same information.

7.5.2020 | The Social Security Committee has started its first and perhaps most important task: defining the problems to be solved by the social security reform.

23.9.2019 | Ms. Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, Minister of Social Affairs and Health, and Mr. Takashi Murata, Japan's Ambassador to Finland, have signed a social security agreement between Finland and Japan in Helsinki on 23 September.

20.5.2020 | The Social Security Committee has started its work by mapping problems associated with social security. The Committee’s parliamentary members have been asked to provide their initial views on the main social security problems that the Committee should seek to solve. Thus, we are not trying to solve the problems yet, but to define the problems to be solved.

20.12.2022 | Low-income households will be compensated for the sharp rise in the heating prices by raising the amount of the expenditure norm of the heating category for the general housing allowance and the expenditure norm of the maintenance category for single-family houses by 57 per cent in 2023. A corresponding increase will also be made to the amount of the housing allowance for pensioners.

8.12.2022 | An additional child benefit will be paid to all child benefit recipients in December 2022. This additional benefit will not be taken into account when calculating recipients’ social assistance.

20.12.2022 | The aim of the legislative amendment is to support low-income households that have difficulties in paying their electricity bills. Financial support for electricity will be available to households that cannot, due to their low income, fully make use of the tax credit for household expenses to deduct their electricity bills.

16.2.2021 | The Government has completed and published its draft proposal for the family leave reform. The draft proposal will be circulated for comments between 19 February and 2 April 2021. 

20.2.2020 | Committee work brings facts and contradictions into the open. Specifying different perspectives and values serves as a model even for other societal discussions.

17.12.2021 | The Social Security Committee has identified the main problem areas of the current social security system and issues now 18 positions for reforming the system.

8.5.2020 | The processing of applications is being simplified in the situation where the number of applications is growing fast.

27.4.2020 | The Government has issued a proposal to make it easier to process unemployment benefit applications and implementation as the number of applications is growing sharply.

9.4.2020 | Employers are now in a situation where they have to adjust their operations as the demand is weakening due to the coronavirus epidemic. The livelihood of employees will be strengthened as many of them are facing unemployment or layoffs.

9.12.2019 | The EU/EEA countries are moving towards electronic exchange of information concerning social security benefits for people moving from one country to another. To this end, the social security institutions will implement the so-called EESSI system (Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information).

4.12.2019 | Perusturvaetuuksiin eli vähimmäismääräiseen kuntoutusrahaan, sairaus- ja vanhempainpäivärahaan sekä työttömyysturvan peruspäivärahaan ja työmarkkinatukeen tehdään tasokorotus 1.1.2020 alkaen. Korotuksen määrä on 20 euroa kuukaudessa.

2.4.2020 | The proposed amendments are intended to improve the financial position of persons in need of unemployment security in the difficult economic situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

19.12.2019 | The activation model for unemployment security will be abolished as of 1 January 2020.

29.11.2019 | The President of the Republic has appointed Outi Antila as Director General of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). She will take up the position on 1 January 2020, when the current Director General of Kela, Elli Aaltonen, will retire.

4.12.2019 | Tax-funded pensions of people receiving a small pension will be subject to a general increase and an index increase as of 1 January 2020. The full amount of the national pension will be raised by about EUR 34 and the full amount of the guarantee pension by EUR 50 per month. Approximately 609,000 pensioners with a total pension of less than EUR 1,200–1,300 per month will receive at least a small increase in their pension.

16.4.2020 | Loss of income would be compensated when a parent remains unpaid at home to care for their children during the epidemic. Loss of income would also be compensated in situations where a person has been directed to quarantine-like conditions upon return from abroad to Finland.

17.12.2020 | Exceptions were made to the Act on Unemployment Security Act due to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim has been to ensure the livelihood of employees and entrepreneurs. Some of the exceptions will continue until the end of March 2021. The extended right of laid-off employees to study during the lay-off period will continue until the end of 2021.

29.12.2016 | Both upper secondary and higher education students will be transferred under the general housing allowance on 1 August 2017. Student housing supplement under the current student financial aid system will still be available to students studying abroad and to students attending fee-based studies in a folk high school, a sports institute or the Sámi Education Institute and living in the school dormitory.

16.1.2019 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, together with other authorities and actors, has prepared for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (or Brexit). In a vote held on 15 January, the British Parliament rejected the UK withdrawal agreement from the European Union. The result of the vote does not mean an immediate withdrawal without any agreement. Further plans of the United Kingdom are expected to be announced within the next few days.

30.11.2016 | The ministerial working group on migration discussed an action plan on the prevention and control of illegal residence in the country. The plan has been prepared as a collaborative effort of various ministries and it focuses on the illegal residence in the country of people who have received a negative asylum decision.

1.3.2023 | Selvitys ja tutkimustoiminta Utrednings- och forskningsverksamhet Sosiaaliset perus- ja ihmisoikeudet sosiaaliturva- uudistuksessa Toomas Kotkas, Anna-Kaisa Tuovinen, Eeva Nykänen, Laura Kalliomaa-Puha VA LT I O N E U V O S T O N S E LV I T Y S - ...

8.12.2016 | Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, will be responsible for granting and payment of basic social assistance from the start of 2017. Supplementary and preventive social assistance will continue to be granted by the municipality. Since both Kela and the municipalities will have jurisdiction regarding social assistance, the application and granting processes will be defined in more detail from the start of 2017.