Elderly

In Finland, you can receive various services that provide help for everyday life and enable you to live at home. If you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you are entitled to receive the services for the elderly that your wellbeing services county (hyvinvointialue) offers.

Even if your health is poor, you can live at home if your home functions well for you. Alteration work can be done to your home to make living there easier.

You can get service housing (palveluasuminen) and supported housing  (tuettu asuminen) from your wellbeing services county. Read more on the InfoFinland web page Support and service housing.

Immigrants who have lived in Finland long enough will receive an old age or work disability pension on the same grounds as all other people residing in Finland. The amount of pension they receive is dependent on how long they have lived or worked in Finland. Guarantee pension, however, secures minimum livelihood for those who have lived in Finland for at least three years. More information is available on the InfoFinland web page Pension.

If you have trouble getting about, you can borrow various devices to help you, such as crutches or a walker. If you need aids and equipment, contact your local health and social services centre first. The centre will provide you with more information about aids and equipment.

In the winter, it is often slippery outside. Shoemakers and some large supermarkets sell anti-slip soles (liukueste) that can be attached to the soles of ordinary shoes. You can also buy studded shoes (nastakengät) from a shoe shop, these make walking on slippery streets easier.

If your health is weak and you need help to cope with everyday life, you can apply for home care (kotihoito) from the social services of your area. Home care encompasses home services, home nursing and support services.

Home services are help with day-to-day activities, such as washing and dressing oneself and eating. Home nursing is nursing and rehabilitation that takes place at home. A doctor writes a referral for home nursing. There are also support services, such as:

• meal service (ateriapalvelu)
• cleaning service (siivouspalvelu)
• shopping service (kauppapalvelu)
• security service (turvapalvelu)
• transport service (kuljetusapu).

If you need support for living at home, contact the social services in your area. They will give you guidance and information on home care services. Home care is usually subject to a fee. When the home care is regular, your income and that of your spouse affect the cost of the home care. Temporary home care costs the same for everyone. The municipality may also provide you with a service voucher you can use to purchase services from a service provider approved by the municipality.

If you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you are entitled to use public health services. If you fall ill, contact your local health and social services centre. More information is available on the InfoFinland page Health services in Finland.

When a family member needs help continuously and his/her care is binding and demanding, it is possible to get allowance for informal care (omaishoidontuki) for it. This allowance is intended for people who have a municipality of residence in Finland. The amount of the allowance and the criteria for getting it may vary from one municipality to another. You can apply for the allowance from the social services of your area. In order to qualify for the allowance, you must make an agreement on informal care with social services. Your local social services will provide more information on the allowance for informal care.

In addition to the remuneration, municipalities can organise various services to support informal care. Municipalities also arrange daytime activities for the elderly. Daytime activities include transport, a meal, exercise or other activities. Ask your local social services for more information.