DIGI CITIZEN

Using Finnish digital public services

Social security by Kela

I have used Kela online services both as a private user and as a professional helping others.

In my personal life I have used Kela services for applying for student grant and for a benefit for unemployment. Both of these were done quite a few years ago. I am currently studying through Open University and working full-time, meaning I am not either eligible or in need of any Kela services. Unfortunately, for this reason, I am not able to describe my experiences using Kela services from my personal life’s view.

On the other hand, I use Kela services as a professional very often, offering guidance and filling out the forms as an employer. I work as an HR Business Partner in a company, and employees often turn to me when they have issues filling out the forms for example for parental leave. In my personal opinion the whole process could’ve been made easier. A lot of first-time parents are lost with what they could be entitled to and what options they have, and what they need to do and when, since information is scattered around the Kela website. Filling out the form can also be very overwhelming, with pages after pages after pages that need to be filled. The applications are quite heavy, which I understand, because it will make sure no one takes advantage of the services if they would not be entitled to them, but for someone in need it is very heavy and sometimes even complex.

From employer’s perspective it is a little bit simpler to fill out the forms, because it is usually less information that is required. From employer’s perspective filling out the parental leave application is often just confirming how much the employee’s salary and working hours are, as well as confirming the dates.

All in all, I do think that it is not Kela’s fault that it is this confusing, but the legislation behind everything that needs to take into account all the possible situations, and Kela probably does the best they can. But perhaps it could be improved to be simpler, or easier to navigate. And by my understanding, by reading fellow students’ posts, not all Kela processes seem as complex.

I see many benefits for moving to a completely digital Kela platform. It is easier to track what applications have been made and they get to where they need to in a blink. Years ago when you had to fill paper forms, it was possible for the letter to get lost in the way. Or the other option was to go to Kela service point where the waiting lines where hours long – and the first schedulable times were weeks, even months after that day. Digital applications do make the process somehow more efficient at least.

Some things are made very easy with Kela, I’ll give them that. My parents applied for a European Health Insurance Card for me when I was still a child. Since then, I have got a new card every two years automatically without needing to do anything. It is good to know that when travelling through Europe, I can feel safe. That if I would fall really sick, I wouldn’t go broke for seeking for medical assistance, but I would be taken care of.

Medical health data in OmaKanta

OmaKanta is very beneficial for someone who uses public healthcare, or for anyone to see an overview of their own health data. I logged in to the website using my banking credentials (app on my phone for strong identification). It seems the last time I personally have used OmaKanta was 1,5 years ago, this is mentioned on the page. The reason for this is, that I have only used Mehiläinen’s occupational healthcare services during that time, and the information ends up on their own app in addition to the OmaKanta. I could’ve viewed all information of my visits during the past year from OmaKanta, but have found Mehiläinen’s app more convenient for my own use. All public services platforms are a little “soulless” and stiff to me, as they are not updated that regularly, where Mehiläinen app is clearly more up-to-date when thinking about how modern the user interface is.

I do think that it is not necessary to make OmaKanta look really good and modern, since the point of the service is not to sell anything, but rather only offer the information that is essential. OmaKanta page is very clear and easy to work with.

At the same time, a lot has been transferred from professionals to individuals. It is a common practice nowadays that if you go take blood tests, the results will be written in OmaKanta, and you will need to check them yourself. There is no call back from the doctor unless there is something alarming in the results. I remember so many times trying to interpret the results myself. For example, a while back I had a result that was named “erythrocytes”, but I had no idea what it meant. Turns out, it meant red blood cells. Then comes another issue. What does it technically mean if there are x or y amount of blood cells? The values are presented as “E12/l”, and again, I have no knowledge of what that means. I do undestand the cell that says that the result is normal, so maybe that’s enough..? But these do raise some questions at the times.

Pension calculations

I have to admit, that being 27 years old, I have never logged in to any pension site as myself (I have done so as an employer). I first logged in to Keva, only to realise I am not their “customer” but Ilmarinen’s. Therefore, Keva was not able to calculate a possible pension for me. I logged in to Ilmarinen’s page. I am not sure if the page works differently than Keva’s, since I wasn’t able to retrieve the information of full retiring before the age of 68 (it was possible to search the numbers for partial old-age pension).

What I found out was that, apparently, the earliest age that I would be able to retire at is 68 years and 3 months, and with my current salary the pension would be around 2700€, and if I were to retire at 70 years old, my pension would be around 3000€. If I were to leave for partial old-age pention, which is possible at 65 years and 3 months, 50 % pension would be around 1000€ – and that number would lower the total pension: if I were to retire at 68 years and 3 months, pension would be around 2500€ and if at 70, it would be 2700€.

What I find interesting, is how much the pension can drop or rise within a couple of years of working. It would truly motivate to work longer. On the other hand, I do feel a little scared, because the retirement age is quite high and I highly doubt it would stay like that. I do think it will rise even more in the future knowing that there are the amount of children born is constantly going down (the future workforce), and there are more and more adults reaching retirement age in the following decades. I guess we will need to wait and see in the 2060’s if I can retire and if it’s worth it to do earlier or later!