The number of applications from people seeking basic social assistance increased by nearly 14 percent in 2024, year-on-year, according to Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.
The agency said that last year it received more than 1.5 million basic social assistance applications, which is considered a last resort form of support for households unable to cover daily essentials.
However, up to one-quarter of the applications for social assistance were rejected, while first-time applicants saw rejection rates as high as 60 percent, according to a Kela press release.
"By far the most common reason for the rejection of an application is that the applicant earns just enough income so that they do not meet the criteria for this last-resort benefit," Kela's customer service unit chief, Petri Hannula, said in the release.
Another reason behind the rejections include applicants not submitting required documentation, including bank statements, according to Hannula.
The benefits agency said that the increase in basic social assistance applications is thought to be caused by cuts to other benefits. It noted that laws regarding housing and unemployment benefit levels were rolled out last year and early this year.
Despite benefit cuts, Finland's basic social assistance benefit costs rose by 95 million euros last year.
At the beginning of this year, a government working group suggested that basic social assistance payments could be cut by 50 percent, if recipients did not register as full-time jobseekers after being asked to.
Benefit calculations
According to Hannula, some of Kela's customers incorrectly think they will automatically be granted basic social assistance to cover shortfalls caused by the cuts to other benefits.
"We are particularly concerned about customers who may plan their lives around the belief that they can easily qualify for social assistance. Many do not understand how strict the qualifying criteria actually are. The reality may come as a big disappointment for these customers, leaving them to struggle with basics such as paying rent," Hannula said in the press release.
"The amount of social assistance is calculated by deducting all necessary expenses for which social assistance can be granted, such as the costs of housing and food, from all the income and assets available to the applicant. If the applicant has more eligible expenses than income, the difference will be paid to them as social assistance," Kela's release read, adding that more information about basic social assistance was available at the agency's website.
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