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Kela: Social benefits totalled nearly 15 billion in 2018

Finland’s social insurer Kela reports that it spent 14.9 billion euros on social benefits last year.

Kelan logo ikkunassa.
Social insurance institution Kela handed out a total of 14.9 billion euros in benefits last year. Image: Tiina Jutila / Yle
  • Yle News

In 2018, health insurance was Kela's largest expenditure, followed by pensions, unemployment benefits and subsidies for children and families

Residents in eastern and northern Finland drew more benefit payments than those living in the western and southern parts of the country, Kela’s latest statistical yearbook showed.

Most Finns receive some form of Kela benefits. In 2018, the agency paid out healthcare reimbursements to nearly 3.8 million people and child allowances for 996,000 kids. Some 377,000 households also drew housing benefits from the social insurer.

300,000 pensioners receiving less than 1k

The combined average of earnings-related and national pensions was 1,669 euros per month in 2018.

People with very little or no earnings-related pensions receive national pensions. For a single person, the full national pension was 628.85 euros per month.

Finland was home to 1.5 million pensioners last year, with the majority—462,000 people—drawing pensions ranging from 1,600 to 2,599 euros per month.

However 322,000 people were paid out pensions less than 1,000 euros per month.