New Kela benefit for the unemployed: general social security benefit

The general social security benefit (yleistuki) is a new form of financial assistance that has been introduced to the Finnish social security system. It is intended for unemployed persons who do not qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance or who have been paid earnings-related unemployment allowance for the maximum period. You can apply for the general social security benefit from Kela.

Kela paid labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance to the unemployed until 30 April 2026 and started paying general social security benefit as of 1 May 2026. Because Kela pays unemployment benefits to customers retroactively for periods of four weeks, Kela will pay customers a combination of the new general social security benefit and labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance for payment periods in May.

“Kela will apply the change automatically, so you do not have to contact Kela. “Stay registered as an active jobseeker with the employment services and continue to regularly file unemployment status reports in the OmaKela e-service every four weeks,” says Sarita Alarotu, Head of Kela’s Centre for Unemployment Benefits.

Payment details for the new benefit displayed with a delay in OmaKela

The first payments of general social security benefit will be made into customers’ bank accounts on Wednesday, 6 May. The amount of the general social security benefit is EUR 37.21 per day. This is the same amount Kela used to pay in labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance.

During the transition period, your unemployment benefits will be paid to you in two instalments. You will get your labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance in one instalment and your general social security benefit in another. Both instalments will be paid to you on the same day. The total amount of unemployment benefits you get for the four-week payment period is the same as before if your situation has not changed.

During the transition period, you may not always be able to see all payment details of your general social security benefit in OmaKela and there may be updating delays. After you have submitted your unemployment status report, general social security benefit will be automatically listed under Omat etuudet (My benefits) for you in OmaKela. However, it will take 1–4 days before you will be able to see Kela’s decision notice on your general social security benefit and its payment details in OmaKela even if Kela has approved your benefit for payment.

“There is no need to worry even if the amount you see in the confirmation message you get after you have submitted your unemployment status report in OmaKela is smaller than usual.  Until the end of May, the confirmation message only shows how much labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance you will get and not your general social security benefit at all due to technical reasons,” says Alarotu.

More information about the new benefit on our website

You can use our benefit calculator for the general social security benefit to check how much general social security benefit you might get.

You can apply for general social security benefit in OmaKela. You will need to fill out a new online application that you can use to both apply for general social security benefit and submit your unemployment status report. You can also apply for basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy retroactively on the same application. You can find the new application in OmaKela under Työttömyys – Tee hakemus (Unemployment – Submit an application).

If you cannot use OmaKela, you can fill out our application forms for general social security benefit (YE1e, PDF) and unemployment status report (YE2e, PDF).

Visit Kela’s website for more information on the general social security benefit in the following languages:

• Finnish
• Swedish
• English
• easy Finnish
• easy Swedish
• Finnish sign language
• Finland-Swedish sign language
• Northern Sámi
• Inari Sámi
• Skolt Sámi

Kela has also published a printable information leaflet in several different languages that gives you an overview of the new general social security benefit:

• easy Finnish
• easy Swedish
• plain English
• Northern Sámi
• Inari Sámi
• Skolt Sámi
• Arabic
• Somali
• Ukrainian
• Russian
• Estonian.