Vammaisetuudet

Disability benefits are governed by the Disability Benefits Act (laki vammaisetuuksista 570/2007). The benefit family consists of three independent benefits: disability allowance for under-16-year-olds, disability allowance for those aged 16+, and care allowance for pensioners.

Disability benefit is tax-free income. It is not income-tested, i.e. the family's or applicant's other income or assets do not affect the amount of the benefit — unlike basic social assistance or housing allowance.

The benefit is granted by Kela, and the decision is generally based on Medical Certificate C, which the treating doctor must draw up. The decision can be appealed to the Social Security Appeal Board and onward to the Insurance Court.

• Disability allowance for under-16-year-olds — for a child under 16 with a long-term illness or disability whose care, attention or rehabilitation places special strain on the family. The applicant is a guardian.
• Disability allowance for those aged 16+ — for a person 16+ with a long-term illness or disability whose function is reduced for at least a year. A condition is that the applicant is not receiving a pension.
• Care allowance for pensioners — for an applicant who receives a pension (old-age, disability, guarantee or survivor pension) and has a need for care, supervision or special expense due to illness or disability.

In practice each person belongs to only one of these: age and the receipt of a pension determine which benefit is applicable.

Each of the three benefits has three levels, set by the need for care, assistance and special expenses. The 2026 monthly amounts (approximate):

Choice of level is based on actual need, not the severity of the illness as such. For example, a serious illness that does not cause daily need for assistance may only entitle the recipient to the basic level, while a relatively mild-seeming disability that requires constant supervision (e.g. severe epilepsy) can qualify for increased or highest level.

Applying for a disability benefit requires Medical Certificate C, which is an official form and contains: the diagnosis (ICD-10 codes), the date of onset of the illness or disability, an assessment of function (ICF classification), the care and rehabilitation plan and an assessment of how much daily assistance, supervision or special care the applicant requires.

The certificate is written by the treating specialist — usually at a specialist outpatient clinic or in occupational health. A general practitioner may write a C certificate, but in practice Kela weights specialist-issued certificates, especially for the increased or highest level.

Ordering the certificate often takes several weeks, so plan ahead: ask for the certificate at the previous appointment, not when you are starting to fill in the application.

Disability benefit does not reduce other Kela benefits, and other benefits do not reduce it — it is genuinely paid in parallel, since it is intended to compensate the costs caused by the disability, not income.

A recipient of a disability benefit can therefore also receive:

• General housing allowance — e.g. for the rent of an accessible dwelling.
• Sickness daily allowance — if the same illness causes incapacity for work.
• Disability pension — if incapacity is more permanent.
• Basic social assistance — as a last resort if all other income is not enough.

In addition, the municipal Disabled Persons Services Act provides services such as personal assistance, transport services and home-modification work, which are applied for from the municipal social services — not from Kela.

The application is filed in OmaKela. The attachments include at minimum: a recent Medical Certificate C, any rehabilitation plan and any receipts for special expenses (e.g. medicines, care supplies, home-modification work).

The processing time is usually about 2–3 months. If the application is rejected or granted at a lower level than was applied for, it is worth considering an appeal — up to 30% of Kela's decisions change at appeal stage, especially if a new or supplementary medical certificate is submitted.

Disability benefits are usually granted for a fixed period, e.g. 1–5 years at a time. Renewal must be applied for; Kela does not automatically extend the benefit, and it ends on the stated end date unless a new application is filed before then.