Kela Pays €250 Million in Social Benefits to Ukrainians in Finland

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, known as Kela, paid nearly 250 million euros in benefits to Ukrainian refugees last year. The figure indicates a sharp increase in welfare dependency as those fleeing the war face hurdles entering the Finnish labor market.

Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, approximately 80,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Finland. Official population data shows about 49,300 remained in the country at the end of 2025.

Of those remaining, nearly 39,000 received some form of financial support from Kela. The total cost of these benefits surged from less than 18 million euros in 2022 to nearly 250 million euros in 2025.

In total, Finland has paid almost half a billion euros in benefits to Ukrainians since the war started.

The high reliance on welfare is closely tied to low employment rates. A Ministry of the Interior report showed that only one third of Ukrainian job seekers under temporary protection have found work.

Temporary protection is an EU-wide mechanism that grants immediate residency and work rights. However, in Finland, this status restricts access to certain standard unemployment subsidies.

Because they cannot access standard unemployment funds, many rely on basic social assistance. This benefit is designed as Finland’s last-resort financial safety net.

Kela paid out nearly 140 million euros in basic assistance to Ukrainians in 2025. This was followed by 50 million euros in general housing allowances and 18 million euros in unemployment security.

Jukka Hänninen, a lead analyst at Kela, explained that temporary protection status prevents most unemployed Ukrainians from receiving the basic unemployment allowance. He added that elderly Ukrainians have also been unable to receive Kela pensions.

Finnish welfare policy requires immigrants to live permanently in the country for three years before they can claim a national pension. “This increases the need for social assistance,” Hänninen stated.

Starting in the spring of 2026, the first arrivals will meet this three-year requirement. They will then become eligible for Kela pensions.

Demographics also heavily influence the distribution of benefits. Women and children make up the vast majority of recipients.

Adult women accounted for 61 percent of all adult recipients last year. In 2025, Kela paid 18 million euros in child benefits and 6 million euros in parental allowances to Ukrainians.

“Differences between women and men are primarily explained by child benefits and women who fled to Finland alone with children,” Hänninen said.

He noted that child benefits are most commonly paid to mothers. Single-parent families also have a significantly higher probability of needing social assistance than others.