Kela to implement Suomi.fi Messages – 1.3 million Kela customers have opted out of receiving paper mail from Kela

Kela will begin to send alerts to its customers via the Suomi.fi e-service in June as other public authorities already do. From 5 June 2025 onwards, customers will receive a notification in Suomi.fi Messages when Kela issues a decision or letter if they have activated Suomi.fi Messages and opted out of paper mail in the OmaKela e-service.

Decisions and letters sent by Kela can be found in OmaKela. A paper copy will also be sent to customers who have not opted out of paper mail in OmaKela.

“Many of our customers have opted out of paper mail because they can see decisions concerning them more quickly in OmaKela instead of having to wait for them to arrive by post. Almost 1.3 million Kela customers have already opted out of paper mail,” says Anu Lantonen, Head of Section for Benefit Document Production at Kela.

The majority of Kela’s decisions and documents are already available electronically. In 2024, Kela sent approximately 10 million letters via post and 4 million by electronic means only. This saved Kela over EUR 4 million in printing and mailing costs. In 2025, Kela strives to increase the number of electronic letters to over 6 million, which would result in savings of EUR 6 million.

Customers increasingly use Kela’s services online. In 2024, customers logged in to OmaKela over 43 million times, and 83% of all applications were submitted electronically.

You can activate Suomi.fi Messages when you log in to OmaKela

You will be prompted to activate Suomi.fi Messages when you log in to OmaKela if you have not already activated the service. The easiest way to activate Suomi.fi Messages is to provide your email address when you are prompted for it during the login process and then confirm it. Suomi.fi Messages is a service provided by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. It is safe to use. 

When you activate Suomi.fi Messages, you will receive the majority of letters sent by the public authorities electronically instead of via paper mail. If you wish to receive decisions and letters from Kela only in electronic form, you must also opt out of paper mail in OmaKela.

Customers being prompted to activate Suomi.fi Messages is part of the Digital First project whose goal is to encourage as many as possible to opt to receive decisions and other documents issued by the public authorities electronically instead of via paper mail. Electronic documents can be delivered quickly to the right recipient. At the same time, the more widespread adoption of electronic documents reduces the costs and harmful environmental impacts involved in processing paper mail.

Read more 

What is Suomi.fi Messages (suomi.fi)      
Opt out of paper mail in OmaKela