Kela s values: respect for the individual expertise cooperation renewal

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2 Kela s mission statement: With you throughout life supporting you through times of change Kela s values: respect for the individual expertise cooperation renewal Kela s mission is to secure the income and promote the health of the entire nation, and to support the capacity of individual citizens to care for themselves.

3 Kela A service for everyone Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, looks after basic security for all persons covered by the Finnish social security system through the different stages of their lives. Everyone living in Finland is a client of Kela, at least at some point in their lives. Persons living outside Finland may also come within the scope of the Finnish social security system and receive benefits from Kela. The schemes administered by Kela cover such areas of social security as benefits for families with children, housing benefits, financial aid for students, conscripts allowances, health insurance, rehabilitation, disability benefits, basic unemployment security and basic pensions. Kela handles a total 16 million applications for benefit every year. Kela offers customer service through a network of local offices and citizen service centres around Finland. Expenditure on Kela benefits as a share of total social spending 21% 79% Kela 12.3bn 1 Other social spending 47.7bn 2 Total social spending 60bn 2 1 Kela also paid 0.8bn in financial aid for students. 2 Estimate. 3

4 Customer services and the service network Online customer contacts* 9.9m 8m 8.1m 6m 6.4m 4m 4.8m m 0 * Number of logins to online customer service. Incl. individual customers and partner organisations (e.g. municipal authorities) Customer contacts at local offices 3m 3.1m 2.8m 2.8m 2.5m 2m 1m Answered telephone calls* m 1.9m 1.7m 1.5m 1.33m 1.0m m 0 * Incoming calls to the call centre. Phone calls are received also by other organisational units. 4

5 Kela has administrative responsibility for around 100 benefits. From a pension institution to today s Kela Kela is an independent institution under public law, the administration and operations of which are supervised by Trustees appointed by Parliament. Its legal status is confirmed in the Finnish constitution and in a separate Act of Parliament. Kela is managed by a Board appointed by the Trustees for a fixed period. Kela s expenditures are predominantly financed by the State. The rest is covered by contributions from insured persons and municipalities. Annual expenditures by Kela total over EUR 13 billion. Administrative costs account for only about 3 percent of the total expenditure. Kela was founded in Initially, its sole responsibility was to pay out national pensions, but the operations expanded over time. Implementation of the 1964 Sickness Insurance Act was entrusted to Kela. In the 1980s, Kela was charged with the operation of the basic unemployment security scheme. In the 1990s, Kela was given responsibility for providing child benefits, financial aid for students and housing allowances, and in the 2000s, for paying out child maintenance allowances and guarantee pensions and offering interpreting services for the disabled. 5

6 Kela operates with an annual budget of around 13 billion. 6

7 A comprehensive social security provider In accordance with its mission statement (With you throughout life supporting you through times of change), Kela secures the income and promotes the health of entire nation and supports the capacity of individual citizens to care for themselves. Kela takes an active role in developing social security and its implementation. The goal is to ensure that the social security provided by Kela is reasonable in amount, delivered with a good standard of quality, and built on foundations that are easily explained and understood. The responsibilities of Kela in the administration of social security and the substance of the security are defined in several Acts of Parliament pertaining to different benefits. Kela is also responsible for informing the public about benefits and services supporting progress in social provision through research issuing statistics, projections and estimates necessary to advance planning and continuous monitoring of benefit schemes and other operations proposing improvements to the legislation governing social security Expenditure ( million) 1, , ,224 3,596 2,331 National Pension Insurance National Health Insurance, earned income insurance National Health Insurance, medical care insurance Benefits for families with children Unemployment benefits Financial aid for students General housing allowance Administrative costs Other benefits Total expenditure 13,544m 7

8 Benefits paid by Kela Expenditure on health insurance benefits (at 2012 prices) million 4,000 Expenditure on pension benefits (at 2012 prices) million 2,500 3,000 2,000 1, ,000 1,000 0 Occupational health care etc. Medicines Reimbursements for medical costs (not including medicines) Maternity, paternity and parental allowances Sickness allowances , Benefits for front-veterans Survivors pensions Other pension benefits Guarantee pension National pensions reducible by other pension income The housing allowance for pensioners has not been counted as a pension benefit since 1 January Expenditure on unemployment benefits (at 2012 prices) million 1,200 Expenditure on financial aid for students (at 2012 prices) million Integration assistance for immigrants Training subsidy and training allowance Labour market subsidy Basic unemployment allowances Payments made under the government loan guarantee programme; interest subsidy and interest allowance Meal subsidy Housing supplement Study grant 8

9 From maternity grants to retirement pensions Typical situations in which customers contact Kela are childbirth, the beginning of study, illness, unemployment and retirement. Families with children Parents are entitled to a maternity grant and to maternity, paternity and parental allowances. Financial assistance is also available towards the cost of adopting a child from abroad. Kela provides a monthly child benefit for all children under 17 years of age. To support the care of small children, Kela provides home care and private day care allowances. If parents are separated and one parent does not contribute financially to the maintenance of their child, Kela can provide a child maintenance allowance. The maternity package, a box containing child care essentials, is Kela s best-known product. Expectant mothers can choose between a cash maternity grant and the maternity package. Adoptive parents are entitled as well. Housing benefits Persons on a low income are eligible for a housing allowance that covers part of their housing costs. It is available for both rental and owner-occupied homes. Students Kela pays students a study grant and a housing supplement. The study grant is available to both upper secondary school students and those in vocational or higher education. The student financial aid system also includes student loans guaranteed by the State. Conscripts Kela provides a conscript s allowance for men and women performing military or alternative service and their spouse and children. It covers reasonable housing costs for a permanent residence and the interest due on a student loan. Sickness National Health Insurance provides coverage for sickness-related expenses. Clients are free to choose between public and private providers of health services. Under the National Health Insurance scheme, Kela offers partial reimbursement for the fees charged by doctors in private practice and for diagnostic and treatment charges. Reimbursements are also available for the cost of dental services obtained from the private sector. Further, Kela provides reimbursement for travel expenses exceeding a fixed deductible and for the cost of prescribed medicines. Compensation for loss of income due to incapacity for work is provided in the form of a sickness allowance. If an incapacitated employee is entitled to sick pay from his or her employer, the sickness allowance is paid to the employer. Persons covered by the National Health Insurance scheme are entitled to medical care during a temporary residence in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland. The European Health Insurance Card (available free of charge from Kela) is required. It is also possible to seek treatment in another EU country. Kela provides compensation for the costs associated with such treatment. 9

10 The statistics compiled by Kela are available online to everyone. Rehabilitation For persons in need of rehabilitation, Kela offers access to services designed to help them improve their functional status and work ability and enhance their qualify of life. Kela provides reimbursement for vocational, medical and discretionary rehabilitation services and for rehabilitative psychotherapy. The purpose of the cash rehabilitation allowance is to offer economic security during participation in rehabilitation. Disability benefits and interpreting services for the disabled The purpose of the disability benefits provided by Kela is to strengthen the autonomy and quality of life of persons with disabilities or long-term illnesses. Kela offers access to interpreting services for persons with speech, hearing or visual/hearing impairments. Unemployment For unemployed persons who do not qualify for unemployment allowance from an unemployment fund, Kela pays a basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy. Job alternation compensations are also provided by Kela. Pensioners Kela provides national pensions for persons whose retirement pension based on employment or self-employment is small or non-existent. Guarantee pensions are provided to secure a minimum level of retirement income. A separate housing allowance scheme for pensioners offers compensation for housing costs to low-income pensioners. Benefits for survivors In the event of the death of a spouse or a child s legal guardian, survivors pensions provide economic security to the surviving spouse and children. The survivors pensions available from Kela are payable as spouses pensions and orphans pensions. Survivors pensions are also paid by earnings-related pension providers and accident and motor insurers. Moving to or from Finland Eligibility for Finnish social security benefits is based on residence in Finland. As a general rule, permanent residents of Finland are entitled to social security benefits provided by Kela. The intention to establish permanent residence in Finland is a requirement for coverage under the Finnish social security scheme. This is determined on the basis of each person s circumstances, taking into account such issues as family relationships, return migration and long-term employment. When moving from Finland, it is usually possible to retain coverage if the residence abroad will be temporary (i.e., will last less than a full year). Under certain circumstances, the coverage may be based on employment rather than residence in Finland. 10

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12 Easy access to services Clients are free to choose how they wish to access Kela s services. They can do so online, by phone, by mail, or by visiting their local Kela office or citizen service centre. The goal is for all claims filed by clients to be determined speedily, consistently and correctly. To offer a good quality of service, Kela depends on reliable information systems and on close cooperation with other public authorities, providers of health and pharmaceutical services, pension agencies and financial institutions. 12

13 Online Clients can look up information on Kela s website and handle Kela-related matters through the online customer service system. Applications for nearly all benefits can be filed through the online system. The system also allows clients to send encrypted messages and to check personal information. An online banking user ID or mobile certificate is needed to log into the service. The online service features a number of calculator applications allowing clients to see whether they are eligible for benefits given their current level of income and how much they could expect to get. Visit to a local office Kela has dedicated local offices around Finland and, in partnership with other government agencies, operates a number of citizen service centres. Clients are free to choose the Kela office they prefer to contact. It is also possible to schedule an appointment with a Kela office if a particular question needs detailed attention. By phone By calling a dedicated customer service number, clients can talk to personnel specialising in the benefits that best suit their circumstances. Phone-based customer service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English. By appointment Clients can schedule appointments for phone and in-office consultations. By mail Clients can send their application to Kela free of charge by using a prepaid return envelope. As a direct reimbursement Most reimbursements available from Kela can be paid to clients without their having to file a claim. The reimbursement is credited to them at the pharmacy or private medical centre. Health-related travel expenses can be reimbursed as well. Direct reimbursements are the most expedient way of conducting business with Kela. 13

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15 Contact us Customer service numbers Conscripts Death of a family member Disability Families with children Housing benefits Kela card, European Health Insurance Card Moving to or from Finland (See also Centre for International Affairs and Finland s national contact point for cross-border health care) Pensioners Rehabilitation Sickness Students Unemployment Centre for International Affairs inter.helsinki@kela.fi (Tel. from abroad ) Finland s national Contact Point for Cross-Border Health Care yhteyspiste@kela.fi (Tel. from abroad ) Main Office Nordenskiöldinkatu 12 PO Box 450, Helsinki firstname.surname@kela.fi (Tel. from abroad ) 15

16 The customer service network covers the whole country insurance districts local office sub-office citizen service centre Erweko 2013 Recommended