Kela social security benefits 2026 will see a modest 0.5 percent increase beginning on 1 January 2026, following an adjustment tied to Finland’s national pension index. The rise is limited, as most benefits will stay frozen under the government’s decision to curb welfare spending.
Kela announced the change after setting the new index value for the next calendar year at 1,939, compared with 1,930 for the current year. The 0.5 percent adjustment reflects movements in the cost-of-living index calculated by Statistics Finland.
Only benefits directly linked to the national pension index will see the increase. These include the national pension, the guarantee pension, disability benefits, survivor’s pensions, and front-veterans’ supplements. The rise also applies to the basic allowance for military assistance, the basic amount of social assistance, and the initial and annual copayment thresholds for medicines.
These adjustments are automatic and designed to maintain the real value of payments as prices shift. The national pension index ensures that recipients’ purchasing power remains stable even when living costs change.
Most of Kela’s benefits will remain unchanged in 2026. The Finnish government has imposed a freeze on several index-linked increases for the years 2024 to 2027. Because of this, benefits such as unemployment support, the basic daily allowance, study grants, and child care allowances will not be adjusted next year.
Also excluded from the 2026 update are the minimum levels for sickness allowance, partial sickness allowance, parental allowance, special care allowance, donor allowance, and rehabilitation allowance.
There will be no modifications to the calculation criteria for either the general housing allowance or the housing allowance for pensioners. These remain fixed as part of the government’s wider cost-control measures.
Kela plans to publish updated details for all benefit amounts and income thresholds toward the end of 2025, once Parliament finalizes the necessary government proposals. Among the key reforms under review are a complete overhaul of the social assistance system, which is scheduled to begin on 1 February 2026, and the launch of a new general support scheme for unemployed people expected on 1 May 2026.
The freeze on most benefits forms part of the government’s broader welfare reform program, designed to restructure Finland’s social security model and contain public spending during the current parliamentary term.
