Kela streamlines basic social assistance application process due to coronavirus
During the coronavirus pandemic, Egezona Kllokoqi-Bublaku has had to answer many questions from PAM members on maintaining their income. Photo: Eeva Anundi
Many laid off employees are considering applying for basic social assistance from Kela. Egezona Kllokoqi-Bublaku from PAM and Marja-Leena Valkonen from Kela explain what first-time applicants should know about social assistance.
If you have no way of earning enough to live on, the basic social assistance from Kela will help you put food on the table.
This can happen, for example, if an employee has been temporarily laid off and exceptional volumes of applications at the unemployment fund have delayed the payment of the unemployment allowance.
“The processing of applications for earnings-related unemployment insurance is taking a long time in the unemployment funds, several weeks. With no income, this can put unreasonable stress on families. Meanwhile, Kela can usually grant basic social assistance quickly, in less than a week,” says Egezona Kllokoqi-Bublaku, PAM’s social policy expert.
The PAM Unemployment Fund has additional staff to work through the backlog of unemployment allowance applications, but during this spring’s mass layoffs, delays with application processing are likely.
A person who has already applied for unemployment allowance is still eligible for basic social assistance. Kllokoqi-Bublaku points out, however, that Kela may retroactively collect the previously granted social assistance from the earnings-related unemployment allowance, if the need arises.
Apply for housing assistance first or at the same time
Applicants should be aware that Kela has streamlined the application process for basic social assistance from the beginning of April until the end of July. Kela has also made it easier for the unemployed, entrepreneurs and students to access social assistance.
This is based on the recommendation issued on 31 March by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health due to the coronavirus pandemic. Marja-Leena Valkonen, benefits manager at Kela, says that Kela follows this recommendation in its decisions.
“We have temporarily stopped deliberating whether an applicant’s housing costs are reasonable, which may be a significant thing for many. This means that the housing costs of our new customers will be recognised in basic social assistance as such, including rents, electricity and water fees,” explains Marja-Leena Valkonen.
For homeowners, this means that maintenance fees, heating costs and the interest for the mortgage will be considered in their full amount.
“We are currently not instructing new applicants to seek cheaper housing,” adds Valkonen.
With the new recommendation from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, new Kela customers will not be asked to sell their assets, such as shares, before benefits can be granted.
As before, applicants for basic social assistance must have previously applied or simultaneously apply for basic housing assistance. As both forms of assistance must be applied for with Kela, both applications can be filled at the same time in Kela’s online services.
“Kela is currently coping well with the basic social assistance applications, and the processing situation is good. On average, we can send out decisions within four business days,” says Valkonen.
Decisions based on the overall situation of the individual and family
Kllokoqi-Bublaku from PAM nevertheless warns applicants that basic social assistance is not granted automatically.
“Even though Kela has simplified things, eligibility for social assistance depends on the overall situation of the family and the individual,” Kllokoqi-Bublaku emphasises. She points out that municipalities also offer assistance.
“Even if you are not eligible for basic social assistance from Kela, you may be eligible for supplementary or preventative social assistance from the social services office of your municipality.”
Finally, let’s look at the frequently asked questions regarding the coronavirus on the Kela website. The response to a question regarding a person who has been temporarily laid off but who has not yet received their unemployment allowance states that everyone is responsible for preparing for a potential drop in earnings.
“Kela will, however, consider each case individually and assess the extent to which a person can realistically be expected to prepare for unexpected situations. Kela will also take the exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic into account,” states the answer.