Length of the allowance period

Earnings-related allowances are paid for a maximum period of 300, 400 or 500 days. To qualify for a maximum period of 400 days, you must have worked for at least three years before becoming unemployed. If you reached the age of 58 years before becoming unemployed and have worked for at least five years in the last 20 years, you can receive an earnings-related allowance for a maximum period of 500 days.

Earnings-related allowances are paid for a maximum of five days a week. Only days for which you are paid an allowance use up your maximum period.

If you work part-time, you use up your maximum period more slowly. When you have worked at least 18 hours a week for 26 weeks, you will resatisfy the employment requirement and your maximum period will reset.

If you are still unemployed when your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out, you can apply for labour market subsidies from the Social Insurance Institution (SII). More information about labour market subsidies is available from the Social Insurance Institution (SII).

Extra days

When your maximum period is up, you may qualify for so-called extra days of earnings-related allowance until you reach the age of 65 years if

• you were born in 1955 or 1956 and turn 60 before your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out, or
• you were born between 1957 and 1960 and turn 61 before your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out, or
• you were born in 1961 or 1962 and turn 62 before your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out, or
• you were born in 1963 and turn 63 before your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out, or
• you were born in 1964 and turn 64 before your maximum earnings-related allowance period runs out.

You also must have worked for at least five years in the last 20 years.

You do not need to apply for extra days separately. Just submit your earnings-related allowance application to your unemployment fund as normal. We will check whether you are entitled to extra days when we process your application. We will not issue a separate decision on your entitlement to extra days.

The amount of your earnings-related allowance will not be recalculated when you are on extra days.

You can continue to receive an earnings-related allowance based on extra days until you qualify for an old-age pension or until the end of the calendar month in which you reach the age of 65 years.

Changes to the entitlement to extra days

With the amendment to the law coming into force on 1 January 2023, the additional days of unemployment allowance will be phased out. The right to additional days is completely removed for those born in 1965 and after.

Paying for additional days will end altogether in 2030.

Retirement through extra days

You can switch from extra days to an old-age pension without incurring an early-retirement penalty. You receive information about the old-age pension from your pension company or Kela.

You can choose whether you want to retire on an old-age pension as soon as age allows or later. You also always have the option to choose not to retire on an old-age pension, but to continue to apply for unemployment benefit. We can pay you earnings-related allowance up to the end of the month in which you turn 65.

You can ask us for a certificate of the extra days of earnings-related allowance that we have paid to you.

Instructions for applying for a certificate of the extra days of earnings-related allowance

We can write a certificate of the extra days of earnings-related allowance for at least one extra day in the month preceding the start of your pension. Exceptionally, you may apply for the earnings-related allowance for a shorter period than the normal application period for the month preceding your pension.