| Kansaneläkelaitos | |
|---|---|
| Kela | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | December 16, 1937 |
| Jurisdiction | Finland |
| Headquarters | Helsinki |
| Employees | 6,092 (December 31, 2010) |
| Annual budget | 12.6 billion € (2010) |
| Agency executive | Liisa Hyssälä, Director General |
| Parent agency | Parliament of Finland |
| Website | |
| http://www.kela.fi | |
Kela, or Kansaneläkelaitos (in Finnish), also FPA or Folkpensionsanstalten (in Swedish), and SII or Social Insurance Institution (in English), is a Finnish government agency in charge of settling benefits under national social security programs. Kela was founded in 1937 to handle retirement pay, but 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.
Despite the use of the word "insurance" in the English translation, Kela is funded directly from taxation, not from insurance premiums. Coverage under the scheme is given to all permanent residents of Finland. Kansaneläkelaitos literally means "National Pension Institution " or, corresponding to the Swedish name, "Folk Pension Agency", 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.[1]