Kela raises age limit for several youths´ benefits

The national social insurance institution- Kela decided to raise the minimum age limit for several benefits paid to the young people from the beginning of next year, said Kela in a press release on Friday.

The age limit will be raised from 16 years to 18 years for rehabilitation subsidy, disability pension, rehabilitation allowances and sickness allowances.

The 17-year-olds who have suspended their compulsory education, however, will no longer be entitled to unemployment benefit.

In addition, the maximum age limit for disability allowance for children will be raised to 18 years and at the same time the minimum age limit for disability allowance for adults and care allowance for pensioners will be changed to 18 years.

The changes will not concern persons who already receive these benefits, but the future recipients.

Parliament has approved a government proposal, according to which the minimum age limit for several Kela benefits will be raised from 16 to 18 years.

“Harmonising the age limits will simplify the complicated social insurance system as a whole. Harmonisation also fits the goals for the preparation of the model for a single general social security benefit,” said Milla Kaitola, Benefits Manager of Kela.

The changes will mostly take effect on 1 January 2025. The changes concerning disability allowance will take effect on 1 January 2027.

The changes are expected to decrease public expenditure by about 6.9 million euro in 2025, about 35.8 million euro in 2026 and about 48.5 million euro annually as from 2027.

At the end of 2023, there were 673 recipients of national pension and guarantee pension under 18 years of age, 786 recipients of sickness allowance and about 10,000 recipients of rehabilitation allowance. Unemployment benefit was granted to 140 persons under the age of 18 in 2023.