Formed December 16, 1937 Annual budget 12.6 billion € (2010) Headquarters Helsinki, Finland Number of employees 6,092 | Jurisdiction Finland Parent agency Parliament of Finland Founded 16 December 1937 | |
 | ||
Agency executive Elli Aaltonen, Director General Profiles | ||
Kela, abbr. from Finnish: Kansaneläkelaitos, Swedish: Folkpensionsanstalten (Fpa), English: The Social Insurance Institution (ISS), is a Finnish government agency in charge of settling benefits under national social security programs. Kela was founded in 1937 to handle retirement pay. In the 1980s and 1990s, its role was expanded to handle other fields like child benefits, unemployment benefits, sickness benefits, health insurance and student benefits.
Kela is funded directly from taxation. Coverage under the scheme is given to all permanent residents of Finland. Kansaneläkelaitos/Folkpensionsanstalten literally means "People's Pension Institute", reflecting its original function as the national provider of retirement benefits.
In May 2008, a Kela e-service apparently disclosed confidential medical insurance information to the wrong client, and subsequently took that service offline.