Parental benefits in Finland

Suomen etuudet lapsiperheille
Here you can find information on parental benefits in Finland, including maternity grant and various parental allowances. The rules also apply to Åland.

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) pays various benefits to families with children if the family is covered by Finnish social security. Here you will find, in chronological order, information first on the maternity grant and then the various parental allowances.

Parental allowances were reformed as of 1 August 2022. Reformed parental allowances are paid if the due date of the baby is on or after 4 September 2022.

You can find information on child care support, i.e. child home care allowance and private day care allowance, on the page Day care in Finland. You can find information on child benefit on the page Child benefit in Finland.

Maternity grant

When you have been pregnant for at least 5 months (154 days), you can apply for the maternity grant. The maternity grant can either be paid as a cash benefit or a maternity package containing baby clothes and child care products. If you choose the cash benefit, you get 170 euros, free of tax.

Read more about the maternity grant on Kela’s website. You can read about other matters related to pregnancy and childbirth on the page Pregnancy and giving birth in Finland.

Parental allowances when the estimated due date of the baby is on or after 4 September 2022

When your child is born, you can apply to Kela for parental allowances. These include maternity allowance, paternity allowance, parental allowance and also special maternity allowance, which is paid if you have to stop working because of risks at work. To get allowances, you must be covered by health insurance in Finland for 180 days immediately before the child’s birth. If you have been insured in another Nordic country or an EU or EEA country, that can also be counted.

Maternity allowance and special maternity allowance

You can go on maternity leave 30−50 working days or around 5−8 weeks before the estimated due date. You can choose yourself when to start your maternity leave. Maternity allowance is paid to mothers for 105 working days. If your work involves certain risk factors, you can apply for special maternity allowance earlier.

Parental allowance

After the maternity allowance period, parental allowance is paid for 158 days, and can be paid to either parent. The father and the mother can also take partial parental leave at the same time, then both get partial parental allowance from Kela.

Paternity allowance

Paternity allowance is paid to the father for a maximum total of 54 working days. Paternity allowance days can partly overlap with the mother’s allowance days. Allowances paid to the father must be used before the child reaches the age of two years.

Parental allowances when the estimated due date of the baby is on or after 4 September 2022 

When your child is born, you can apply to Kela for parental allowances. These include pregnancy allowance, parental allowance and also special pregnancy allowance, which is paid if you have to stop working because of risks at work. To get allowances, you must be covered by health insurance in Finland. Parental allowances are paid only if you are not working. Partial parental allowance is an exception to this - you can get it if you work part-time.

Pregnancy allowance and special pregnancy allowance

You can go on pregnancy leave 14-30 working days or around 2-5 weeks before the estimated due date. You can choose yourself when to start your pregnancy leave. Pregnancy allowance is paid to the parent giving birth for 40 working days. If your work involves certain risk factors, you can apply for special pregnancy allowance earlier.
 

Parental allowance

Parental allowance for one child is paid for a maximum of 320 working days. Parental allowance is divided equally between the parents, i.e. they will both be entitled to 160 working days. Parents can get part of their parental or pregnancy allowance at the same time. Parental allowance must be used by the time the child turns two. Parents can work part-time and get partial parental allowance.

Moving and benefits for families with children

The situations in which you can transfer parental allowance rights accrued in one Nordic country to another Nordic country are subject to strict conditions. It is advisable to check the conditions before moving.

Are you moving from Finland to another Nordic country?

If you move permanently from Finland to another Nordic country while you are getting parental allowances and you no longer work in Finland, Finland nonetheless pays the allowances until the end of the period. However, child home care allowance stops being paid on the day you move unless it concerns the family member of a person still working in Finland.

In certain cases Finnish parental allowances can be granted to persons residing temporarily in another country. The condition is that the applicant is covered by Finnish social security despite residing in another country.

Always let Kela know if you move.

Are you moving to Finland from another Nordic country?

If you move to Finland and you have started to receive parental allowances from another Nordic country, your previous home country will nonetheless pay the allowances to the end. Ask the authority granting the benefit for more information or read more about parental benefits in the country concerned.

If you are expecting a child and you move to Finland before the other Nordic country has started paying parental allowances, you can apply for parental allowances from Kela in Finland if you are considered to have moved to Finland permanently or if you are covered by Finnish social security based on your work.

If the child’s expected due date was before 4 September 2022, the father is entitled to paternity leave and paternity allowance in Finland even if the other parent is getting parental benefits from another Nordic country. The condition for this, however, is that the father does not work in the other country. 

If the child’s expected due date was on or after 4 September 2022, the other parent in Finland is entitled to parental leave even if the other parent is getting parental benefit from another Nordic country. Then the parent can get all 320 days of parental allowance from Finland on condition that the parent does not work in another country.

If you move, inform Kela and the corresponding authority in your country of departure.

More information

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