Maintaining the social assistance basic amount
Act amending section 9 of the Act on Social Assistance
The basic amount of social assistance set in law will be increased so that the benefit does not decrease due to a fall in the national pension index. Recipients' monthly social assistance will remain at the same level as before.
- Status
- Passed with amendments
- Submitted
- 19 Nov 2015
- Latest event
- 11 Dec 2015
- Votes
- 0
- Speeches
- 5
- Confirmed
- 17 Dec 2015
- Statute
- 1517/2015
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The base value of the basic amount laid down in the Act on Social Assistance will be increased from 447.24 euros to 449.04 euros per month, ensuring that the 0.4 per cent reduction in the national pension index will not cut the social assistance paid.
What it means
The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2016. The basic amount of social assistance for a single adult will remain at 485.50 euros per month in 2016. The measure prevents a reduction in benefit for recipients of social assistance and increases social assistance expenditure by 2.84 million euros, of which the share of the state and the municipalities is 1.42 million euros each.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
5 speeches · 4 speakers · 1 debate
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed maintaining the level of the basic amount of social assistance despite the drop in the national pension index. The proposal to safeguard the level of social assistance received full and unanimous support from Parliament. However, the opposition pointed to the Government's other social security cuts and the need for a broader reform of basic security.
- Finns PartyIn favour
The group considered it important that the livelihood of the most vulnerable is secured and the purchasing power of the benefit is preserved even in difficult economic times.
”On annettava hallitukselle kiitosta siitä, että vaikeista ajoista huolimatta juuri köyhimpien asemasta pidetään huolta ja toimeentulotuen riittävyys turvataan.”
— Jani Mäkelä - Centre PartyIn favour
The group considered the legislative amendment very positive for recipients of social assistance and emphasised the smooth administration of social assistance as the benefit transfers to Kela.
”Me sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunnassa pidämme ehdotusta heikoimmassa taloudellisessa asemassa olevien kannalta myönteisenä.”
— Hannakaisa Heikkinen - Left AllianceIn favour
The group supported maintaining the level of the basic amount of social assistance, but pointed out that the Government is weakening the livelihood of low-income earners through many of its other measures.
”ei se muuta hallituksen peruslinjaa heikompiosaisia ja pienituloisia väestönosia kohtaan.”
— Kari Uotila - Christian DemocratsIn favour
The group supported the proposal unanimously, but called for a broader comprehensive reform of social security to reduce dependence on social assistance.
”Tämä esitys on todellakin yksimielinen, ja mitään moitittavaa tässä ei todellakaan ole, mutta eihän tämä tietenkään minkään suuren juhlankaan aihe ole.”
— Päivi Räsänen
This digest was generated by AI from 5 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 124/2015 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 19 Nov 2015Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö
- 25 Nov 2015Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 1 Dec 2015Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunta
- 3 Dec 2015Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 8 Dec 2015Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 9 Dec 2015Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki toimeentulotuesta annetun lain 9 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty muutettuna · 1517/2015 · 17 Dec 2015
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki toimeentulotuesta annetun lain 9 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan toimeentulotuesta annetun lain (1412/1997) 9 §:n 1 momentin 1 kohta, sellaisena kuin se on laissa 868/2014, seuraavasti:
9 §Perusosan suuruus
Toimeentulotuen perusosa kuukautta kohti on:
yksin asuvalla henkilöllä 449,04 euroa;
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.