Benefits and reimbursements to pensioners

You may receive a housing allowance for pensioners from Kela if:

• You permanently live in Finland
• You are a person with low income
• You receive a pension that entitles you to the housing allowance for pensioners

The housing allowance for pensioners is 85% of the housing costs Kela takes into accountOpens in a new window. minus a basic deductible and an additional deductible.

If you only receive a partial early old-age pension, you are not eligible for the housing allowance for pensioners. You may be eligible for the general housing allowance, however.

You may receive the care allowance for pensionersOpens in a new window. if you have a chronic disability or illness. The purpose of the care allowance is to make your daily life easier and to support your care and rehabilitation.

There are three tiers of the care allowance for pensioners. The tier is determined based on how much help, guidance and supervision you need.

Kela estimates the care allowance tier based on your application, so you do not need to know in advance what tier you are applying for.

Kela arranges rehabilitation, such as:

• Rehabilitation courses 
• Adjustment training courses  
• Multidisciplinary individual rehabilitation 

Discretionary rehabilitation is mainly targeted at persons of the working age, i.e. those under 69 years of age. 

Discuss your rehabilitation needs with your doctor. If your doctor believes that you could benefit from rehabilitation, they will recommend it and write a corresponding statement. You must also submit an application.

Some of the benefits paid by Kela are taxable, while others are not.

The following are tax-exempt, for example:

• Care allowance for pensioners
• Housing allowance for pensioners
• Child increase for pensioners
• Social assistance
• Front-veterans’ supplement and additional front-veterans’ supplement

Read more on the Taxation of benefits page on Kela’s website.Opens in a new window.

The costs of certain medicines, nutritional preparations and emollient creams can be reimbursed, provided that you have a prescription stating that they are needed to treat an illness. 

Kela will reimburse medication costs once you have paid the initial deductible. You will have to pay for your medicines in full until their combined price exceeds the initial deductible during a calendar year. To receive the compensation, your purchases must exceed the initial deductible every calendar year.

Read more about the reimbursement of medicines by Kela.Opens in a new window.

The client charges in public healthcare and social welfare are laid down by law and adjusted every other year. There is an annual out-of-pocket maximum for client charges in healthcare, after which all reimbursable services are free of charge to the client. Maintenance charges may be charged for short-term institutional and hospital care even after this.

The wellbeing services county may also decide to introduce lower charges or provide a service free of charge. Wellbeing services counties are not allowed to apply a charge that exceeds the production costs of the service.

This means that one of the following applies to all healthcare and social welfare services:

• The service is free of charge
• The client charge is fixed
• The client charge depends on the client’s income and family relations

Read more about healthcare and social welfare client charges on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.Opens in a new window.

As a pensioner, you can receive reimbursement from Kela for trips related to healthcare and rehabilitation if the visits are due to an illness, an examination or a rehabilitation decision. Usually, a trip to the nearest place of treatment using the most affordable means of transport available is reimbursed.

The deductible for a one-way trip is EUR 25, and the annual out-of-pocket maximum is EUR 300. When your deductibles exceed the out-of-pocket maximum, your trips for the rest of the year will be free of charge. 

If you are unable to use public transport due to your state of health, or if public transport is not available for the entire journey or a part of it, you can use a taxi (known as a Kela taxiOpens in a new window.). Taxi fares will only be reimbursed when you place an order for a taxi using the free-of-charge order number for your own county. This way, the reimbursement will be deducted directly from the taxi fare, and no separate application is required. If you need to use a taxi due to your state of health, you will need an SV 67 certificate issued by a treatment facility.

If you are unsure whether trips to your treatment facility are covered by Kela, contact Kela.

Read more specific terms and conditions for the reimbursement of travel costs by Kela.Opens in a new window.

You can request the reimbursement for travel costs via OmaKelaOpens in a new window. or by using a Kela formOpens in a new window..