KOKO fund’s membership (FAQ)

Sign in to our eService using your online banking credentials. If you are a member of KOKO, you will be able to view your personal information. If you are not a member of KOKO, the service will tell you that once you have signed in.

There is a delay of 1 to 2 months before information about new members is transmitted from your trade union to the unemployment fund. In this case, you can check your membership status by contacting your union.

The fee is charged from the month you have joined the fund.

If you are a direct member of KOKO (meaning that you are only a member of the unemployment fund) or if you have joined KOKO through Safa ry, you can send your membership fee inquiries to KOKO in the eService in the Messages section.

If you have joined KOKO through your trade union (other than Safa ry), you can check your membership fee payment status by contacting your union.

The invoicing methods available to the direct members of the unemployment fund are paper invoice (default) and electronic invoice. If you want to, you can switch from paper invoice to electronic invoice in your online banking service.

If your KOKO membership is through your trade union, you can check the available invoicing methods from your union.

If you are a direct member of KOKO or you have joined KOKO through Safa ry, you can order an electronic invoice in your online banking service. Select Korkeasti koulutettujen työttömyyskassa KOKO as the payee and enter your personal identity code as the identifier.

If your KOKO membership is through your trade union (other than Safa ry), please contact your union.

Tip: To find KOKO on the list of payees in your online bank, use the official name of KOKO (Korkeasti koulutettujen työttömyyskassa KOKO), either in full or in part, or KOKO’s business ID (0116562-4).
Contact your bank if you need more detailed information on electronic invoicing.

If you resign from KOKO in the middle of the year, your membership fee for the rest of the year can be refunded. You need to send us a written request for the refund through eService  function and give us your bank account details. You need to request your refund within three months of ending your membership in KOKO. If you were a member through your trade union, you can ask your union for the refund.

You cannot get a discount on your KOKO membership fee or have your fee waived (unlike your union’s membership fee). The membership fee is the same for everyone and you need to pay it even if you are unemployed, on family leave, on child-care leave, in the army or a student.

If you want to end your trade union membership and continue as a direct member of KOKO, notify both KOKO and your union in writing. You can notify KOKO by sending a message in our eService . You can notify your trade union in your union’s online service or by email.

To switch to being a member of the unemployment fund through your trade union, you should notify both KOKO and your union. You can notify KOKO by sending a message in our eService . You can notify your trade union in your union’s online service or by email.

You can join KOKO through 16 trade unions. A list of these unions is available here.

As a student, you can join the unemployment fund if you are in paid employment. When you are a member of the unemployment fund, you accumulate earnings-related unemployment security for yourself while working. If you do not find employment immediately after graduation, you can receive earnings-related unemployment allowance from the unemployment fund, which is often higher than the benefits paid by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).

In order to receive earnings-related unemployment allowance, you must meet the employment condition. This means that, during your unemployment fund membership, you must have been in paid employment for a certain amount of time. It is a good idea to become a member of the fund in time so that you can accrue the employment condition. Read more about accruing the employment condition: Conditions for earnings-related allowance

Please note that if you have already accrued the employment condition (work that meets the employment condition during your unemployment fund membership) and you leave the unemployment fund for some time, this previously accrued employment condition cannot be taken into account when you rejoin the unemployment fund. Therefore, it is recommended that you remain a member of the unemployment fund throughout your studies – even if you do not work alongside your studies all the time.

Earnings-related unemployment security is accumulated by all kinds of paid work that complies with the employment condition. Therefore, you do not have to be working in a job related to your field of study.