Income and livelihood of a person with an illness or disability

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re we have gathered information about income and livelihood sources and support for an adult with an illness or disability.

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Sickness allowance

You can get sickness allowance if you are between 16 and 67 years old and are unable to work due to illness or disability. The purpose of the daily allowance is to compensate for the loss of earnings during illness. Students and unemployed jobseekers can also receive sickness allowance.

You apply for sickness allowance from Kela. If you are employed and your employer continues to pay you a wage during your sick leave, the allowance is usually claimed by the employer.

Sickness allowance is payable for a maximum of 300 working days. If you are still unfit for work when you reach the maximum limit, you may be able to apply either for rehabilitation allowance or for a disability pension. If you are partially fit for work or study, you can apply for vocational rehabilitation. During the rehabilitation period, you will be paid a rehabilitation allowance.

Please note: Sickness allowance is not paid to persons who have become unfit for work at under the age of 15.

Rehabilitation subsidy and disability pension

A rehabilitation subsidy is a fixed-term disability pension payable to persons aged between 16 and 64 who are rehabilitating to return back to work or study. Usually, rehabilitation allowance is only granted after you have been paid sickness allowance for the maximum period of about a year. You can apply for rehabilitation allowance from Kela. If you had been working before falling ill, you can also apply for support from your pension provider.

Rehabilitation allowance

Rehabilitation allowance secures your livelihood during rehabilitation. If you are between 16 and 67 years old, you can receive a rehabilitation allowance during vocational or medical rehabilitation.

Vocational rehabilitation can help you in choosing the right education option or field of study. It may include coaching, study and work try-outs. During rehabilitation, you will receive a rehabilitation allowance. A partial rehabilitation allowance may be available if you work part-time during rehabilitation. You can apply for vocational rehabilitation from Kela. If you had been working before falling ill, you can also apply for rehabilitation allowance from your pension provider.

Medical rehabilitation aims to maintain and improve your functional capacity. During rehabilitation, you will receive a rehabilitation allowance. You can apply for medical rehabilitation from Kela.

Please note: Rehabilitation allowance can also be paid to the parents of a child with a disability or illness during the child's rehabilitation and adaptation training courses.

Rehabilitation allowance for young people

The aim of vocational rehabilitation for young people is to help you plan your own future and find your way in education and the working world. Young people between the ages of 16 and19 can receive rehabilitation allowance from Kela for the period of study or other rehabilitation aimed at securing a job.

Please note: If you receive a rehabilitation allowance, you cannot receive student financial aid at the same time.

Disability pension

TDisability pension is paid to disabled persons between 16 and 64 years of age who are unable to support themselves through work due to illness or disability. Those who are partially fit for work can receive a partial disability pension. The disability pension is paid by Kela or, alternatively, by your pension provider if you were employed before becoming unfit for work.

If you are under the age of 20, you will not be granted a disability pension until your possibilities for vocational rehabilitation have been examined.

When you reach the age of 65, the disability pension is automatically converted into an old-age pension. This does not need to be separately requested from Kela.

Please note: If you receive a disability pension, you cannot receive a disability allowance or child benefit at the same time. A person who is on a partial disability pension may receive a disability allowance.

Old-age pension

The general retirement age is 65. At that age, you will start to receive an old-age pension. You can receive your pension from a pension provider or from Kela. If you have been in the workforce, you can get an earnings-related pension from a pension provider. If you receive only have a small earnings-related pension, you can also get an old-age pension from Kela.

If you have previously claimed a disability pension, when you turn 65 Kela will automatically change it to an old-age pension.

Please note: If you receive a pension, you cannot receive a disability allowance at the same time.

Care allowance for pensioners

You can apply for a care allowance for pensioners from Kela if you need help and guidance in your everyday life, such as in getting dressed, eating, and taking care of your personal hygiene. The care allowance is payable at three rates. You can receive a care allowance if you receive an old-age pension, a disability pension or a rehabilitation allowance.

Please note: If you receive a care allowance, you cannot receive a disability allowance at the same.
Care allowance does not prevent you from receiving informal care allowance.

Disability allowances

A person with an illness or disability or their parents can apply for disability allowance from Kela. The person can receive disability allowance if they have a significant need for care and assistance due to their disability or illness. The allowance is payable at three rates: the basic rate, the medium rate, and highest rate. The rate at which you are granted the allowance depends on your need for assistance and overall situation.

Other benefits

In addition to the above, you can apply to Kela for various allowances for families with children, student financial aid, housing allowance, housing allowance for pensioner, or social assistance.

You can also apply for supplementary or preventive social assistance from the City of Helsinki.