Rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation can help you turn setbacks caused by an illness into a win if you have not reached retirement age and an illness or injury threatens your workability. Rehabilitation can even lead to a new career path.

What is rehabilitation supported by Varma?

Varma ensures your income during rehabilitation by means of, for instance, a rehabilitation allowance. After your rehabilitation, you can continue working and grow your pension.

Learn about the benefits

You received a positive rehabilitation decision, what happens now?

Well planned is half done

• Rehabilitation applicant
• Work trial participant
• Studying while in rehabilitation

• Vocational rehabilitation application
• Forms for persons in rehabilitation
• Forms for employers
• Forms for service providers

Go to forms

• if you work or it has been less than 2.5 years since you stopped working and you have not yet reached retirement age
• if you have a profession and at least around five years of work experience
• if your total earnings over the last five years total at least EUR 34,910 (2017)
• if an illness or injury limits your ability to perform your current job duties

A rehabilitation benefit is always more than disability pension or the fixed-term disability pension. During your period of rehabilitation, you also accrue old-age pension.

Taxation and payment of rehabilitation benefits

If your income before the start of rehabilitation consisted of wages/salary, a daily sickness allowance or unemployment allowance, we will pay you a rehabilitation allowance. Be sure to inform the payer of your daily allowance that the rehabilitation allowance has started!

• The allowance equals the disability pension + 33 per cent.
• The payments will start, for example, once your work trial begins.

If you have not yet applied for rehabilitation, you can calculate or order an estimate of the rehabilitation allowance on our eServices.

If you are already receiving the cash rehabilitation benefit, we will pay you an additional 33 per cent rehabilitation increment for the duration of your rehabilitation.

If you receive a rehabilitation allowance or rehabilitation increment from us, you may be entitled to compensation for your commuting and studying expenses.

When you apply for compensation for travel and living expenses related to studying, work trials and job coaching, create a commuting invoice on our eServices.

The benefits will be deposited into your account within roughly two weeks of your application.

Rehabilitation assistance for no more than 3 months if you have received a preliminary rehabilitation decision from us and you are not entitled to any other income. You can apply for assistance equal to disability pension by sending in an open application.

A business subsidy for entrepreneurs to help start up, develop or continue a business. Please contact your personal rehabilitation specialist.

Begin planning your rehabilitation as soon as possible after you receive a preliminary decision on your entitlement to rehabilitation supported by Varma. The preliminary decision is valid for approx. ten months.

Planning often starts in co-operation between you, your workplace HR administration and occupational health care as a part of occupational health negotiations (pdf).

Learn about the different rehabilitation options

Your initiative in drawing up a rehabilitation plan is the key to your success in returning to work. If you find it difficult to create a plan, however, you can contact your personal rehabilitation specialist by phone. If necessary, we will hire the services of a career coach to help you draw up a plan.

Once we have approved your plan and your rehabilitation has started, we will begin paying you a rehabilitation allowance and compensation for expenses.

See what rehabilitation income consists of

• Could you continue at your present job with the help of a work trial and work arrangements?
• Is it possible to change your job description to suit your state of health?
• Could you be given another job at your current workplace?
• Could you find suitable tasks at your current workplace with the help of additional training?
• Do you need support to continue as an entrepreneur?

• Considering your present education level and experience, could you be employed by a new employer, for example, through a work trial or job coaching?
• Is retraining for a new profession and changing fields to find work suited to your state of health an option?
• Could you become self-employed and in this way perform work that is suitable for you?