Kela
Kela’s services are part of many Finns’ lives at different stages. Kela offers support and services for both ordinary life situations that affect everyone and more special situations. Ordinary situations for Kela’s services include, for example, receiving medicine reimbursements, reimbursements for doctor’s visits, maternity packages, parental allowances, student meal reimbursements and study grants. For more special life situations, Kela offers support for example in the form of unemployment benefits and various rehabilitations. Sometimes you don’t think about how many things Kela is involved in, when for example Kela pays support for employee absences directly to the employer in certain cases or in the form of meal subsidies directly to the student restaurant. In my own everyday life, I have used Kela’s services at many stages of life, such as when studying and on parental leave. I always do things digitally and these days it would feel really strange to visit Kela in person or call Kela. I already have a European Health Insurance Card, and fortunately I haven’t had to use it abroad yet.
Kela has invested a lot in digitalization and almost all Kela applications can be made digitally and Kela has several digital service channels. The development of digitalization is ongoing and Kela has an ongoing development project aimed at making transactions easier and increasing the automation of the service (Kela 2025a). In addition to digital services, Kela has also maintained face-to-face services and they are also used in areas with low thresholds. One example is Kela’s video service, which is used in many Ohjaamo (advisory service for youth), through which you can quickly connect with a Kela expert. (Kela 2025b). Kela also maintains the Kanta service (Kela 2026).
Omakanta
I use Omakanta regularly. I check my own prescription information there and follow-up instructions after a doctor’s visit. I find the service easy to use and it facilitates care, for example between occupational health and primary health care, when professionals can see information recorded elsewhere using Kanta.fi. Previously, only healthcare services were visible in Kanta, but by the autumn of 2026 at the latest, all social care services using an electronic customer information system must also join the database (Kanta 2025). The change is significant for social care and has required a lot of work in terms of both system requirements and registration visits. However, the change is very positive and contributes to the digitalization of social services.
Keva
I had not used Keva’s pension information service before. Sometimes pension information has come in the mail, but I have not checked my pension information since the end of paper mail. My own pension is still a very long way off, the earliest I can retire is 67 years and 6 months, i.e. in 2058. The pension amount is not very big, because salaries in my field are not high. Fortunately, the amount still has the potential to increase, because I am relatively young.
I have used Keva’s services in my work, when I have assisted clients in applying for vocational rehabilitation. Keva is responsible for arranging vocational rehabilitation if the applicant for rehabilitation has accumulated a certain amount of earned income and years of work before applying for rehabilitation (Keva n.d). If the applicant has a longer background of absence from working life, then Kela is often responsible for vocational rehabilitation.
eBay
eBay is a platform where companies and individuals can sell products. I bought a new strap for my sports watch through eBay when I had an allergic reaction to the original strap. I ended up ordering the product from eBay because the prices of the straps were much cheaper there. The strap came from a Chinese store and only cost a few euros, there were no shipping costs. eBay has several payment options, such as credit card, PayPal, Klarna or GooglePay. eBay has been around for a long time and I find it reliable. When I made the purchase, the payment and delivery of the product worked well. The service also says that it will help and return the money if the ordered and paid product is not delivered (eBay n.d).
The strap was otherwise good, but there was a small sharp corner in one place and it made small holes in more delicate fabrics. I thought this was because the price and quality of the product met. I found a similar bracelet from a Finnish online store called Keskisen Kello, which also has a store in Tuuri. The bracelet cost about 20 euros more than on eBay, but I thought it was of better quality and more finished. The product arrived in the mail and I found it to be exactly the same product as the one I had bought on eBay for a cheap price.
Job Market Finland
In my work as a youth worker, I use the Job Market Finland service a lot with clients. Through it, you can register as an unemployed job seeker, report that you have acted in accordance with your obligations, view your activation plan, send a message to your officer, search for jobs and get information about services and training. I chose to highlight the site because it is one of the most used digital services in my client work. Young people need a lot of support in dealing with it and dealing with employment authorities is particularly challenging due to bureaucracy. The Job Market Finland has been revamped, but I find it confusing. There are two different places to log in and you have to know how to log in to the right one in order to see your own unemployment information. It is difficult to find information about necessary education on the open side of the site. There are also many good things about the service. Through it, you can see your own information in detail and all your dealings with the officer. The option to send a message is a good and really necessary feature. Searching for jobs through the service is also easy.
Digital gap
Not all citizens are in an equal position in the use of digital services, and this is very visible in the social sector. Not everyone has the opportunity to acquire the devices that are required to use digital services. There are also many people, other than the elderly, whose cognitive abilities are not sufficient to use all services. Many neuropsychological characteristics and reading difficulties also make it difficult to use services independently.
The government program aims to develop and increase digital services in social and health care. However, the program also mentions in the same context that digital exclusion should be prevented, and other service channels will be made available to those who need them. (Valtioneuvosto 2023, 41.) Other service channels are made possible through multidisciplinary cooperation, such as the Kela video service in the Ohjaamo that I mentioned. In the Ohjaamo, an employee helps the customer to open a remote connection on Ohjaamo’s computer and, if necessary, is also present at the meeting if the customer so wishes. Similar services are also available elsewhere for other age groups.
Digital Competence Test
Information, communication and security were my strongest areas and the results were consistent. Production was my weakest area and from there especially configuration and automation.
Self-reflection
The pension calculator was a new thing for me in this topic, but I don’t think it’s necessary in this life situation yet. As I get closer to retirement age, it’s definitely a good idea to review the information and make plans based on it. I got to know the Kanta.fi service and its development better than before. Digital Competence was interesting and made me think more deeply about different areas and my own competence as a whole.
Commented blogs:
https://blogi.savonia.fi/minnak
Sources:
eBay n.d. eBay Money Back Guarantee. Verkkojulkaisu. https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/. Viitattu 28.3.2026
Kanta 2025. Sosiaalihuollon asiakastietovaranto. Verkkojulkaisu. https://www.kanta.fi/ammattilaiset/sosiaalihuollon-asiakastietovaranto. Viitattu 28.3.2026
Kela 2025a. Eepos-kehittämisohjelma. Verkkojulkaisu. https://www.kela.fi/eepos-kehittamisohjelma. Viitattu 27.3.2026
Kela 2025b. Ohjaamo – Nuorten monialainen yhteispalvelu. Verkkojulkaisu. https://www.kela.fi/yhteistyokumppanit-tyollisyyspalvelut-ohjaamo-nuorten-monialainen-yhteispalvelu. Viitattu 27.3.2026
Kela 2026. Digitalisaation ja tiedon liikkuvuuden edistäminen. Verkkojulkaisu. https://www.kela.fi/digitalisaation-ja-tiedon-liikkuvuden-edistaminen. Viitattu 27.3.2026
Keva n.d. Kuntoutus. Verkkojulkaisu. https://www.keva.fi/henkiloasiakkaalle/kuntoutus/. Viitattu 28.3.2026 Valtioneuvosto 2023, 41. Vahva ja välittävä Suomi. Pääministeri Petteri Orpon hallituksen ohjelma 20.6.2023. Valtioneuvoston julkaisuja 2023:58. Verkkojulkaisu. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/a89b334b-2f1e-4b41-bd97-ff91a7449a7a/content. Viitattu 28.3.2026
Hi Aino! Thank you for your blog post. You used a good variety of sources combined with personal experiences which resulted in a very informative text. Looks like we were on the same page about not having viewed our collected pension before. I guess it doesn’t have a big effect on ones life until getting closer to the retirement age so you do not even remember there is an option to view the amount of it.