Kela Dispute

I am quite disappointed in the Kela system currently.  Granted, the staff are very friendly in person and very helpful....but for some reason - I was not credited the proper amount of funds for staying at home to care for our son.

Remember, when I first got here, my residence permit status was listed as "B"?  Well, that's fine.  I guess that means I am not entitled to a stay-at-home allowance etc.
Then in August of 2010, I became an "A-Permanent" status.  Which entitles me to work here with no restrictions.
So I had applied closer to V�in� being 1 (if not after he turned one so at least November 3, 2010) - and was rejected for the stay-at-home allowance.
I went back recently, realizing that perhaps this puts a different spin on things, being "A-Permanent" status and the lady was very kind and gave me some information.  But she looked on the system and said, "I'm sorry, you don't qualify because you are not permanent status here."
But I am.  So I showed her my Passport with the Residence Permits, and she gave a quick call over to another representative higher-up, and she said, "Oh yes!  Of course you qualify if you're Permanent status!  Here, fill out the forms and send them back and we can retro-credit you as far back as 6 months."
So here I am, going onto my 2nd year of living here, and feel a little miffed that I was out an extra 4-6 months (as there is a 180-days waiting period to ensure you really will live here) of stay-at-home allowance.  Which totals to be about 319,00� a month (on average)!!!
Compared to Canada, where you only get 100$/month for 1 child...319� is about $430 Canadian!!!  To some friends of mine who are Finnish moms, 319� isn't a lot compared to their salary.  But for me, not having a salary to rely on when returning back to work after maternity leave...319�/month is A LOT of money!

Ah well, better than not getting it at all!

So please be aware: KELA DOESN'T KNOW IF YOUR STATUS HAS CHANGED!!!!
As soon as your status has changed and you have that label in your Passport - re-apply for all of your benefits because you may end up getting more than you previously did!!!