Pension

Finland has two pension systems which complement each other:

• Earnings-related pension is earned by your paid work and entrepreneurial activities. It is the responsibility of an employer to take out a retirement pension insurance policy for all their employees and to pay the insurance premiums. If you are self-employed, you must take out the  self-employed person's pension insurance YEL (yrittäjän eläkevakuutus YEL). If you are an agricultural entrepreneur, you must take out the agricultural entrepreneur's pension insurance MYEL (maatalousyrittäjän eläkevakuutus MYEL).
• A national pension (kansaneläke) and guarantee pension (takuueläke) are the minimum security paid by the state if you do not receive an earnings-related pension or if your earnings-related pension is small. 

You can receive an old-age pension when you reach retirement age. The age limit depends on when you were born. For example, if you were born in 1964, your retirement age is 65.

Determine whether you are eligible for rehabilitation services (kuntoutuspalvelut) or a disability pension (työkyvyttömyyseläke) if your ability to work has decreased. You can also receive a partial old-age pension (osittainen vanhuuseläke) at the age of 61 or 62 at the earliest, depending on when you were born. In addition, you may be eligible for a survivor’s pension (perhe-eläke), if your family member dies.

Pensions are paid by employment pension insurance institutions and Kela. The employment pension insurance institutions pay an earnings-related pension. It is based on salary and other income from work. If your earnings-related pension is small, you can also be eligible to receive a pension from Kela.

If you are retired, you can also work if you like. If you are on old-age pension, your earned income will not have an effect on the amount of pension you receive. In this case, you will accrue a new pension, which you will receive at your highest retirement age. The highest retirement age refers to the age at which pension accrual ends, even if the work continues. You can check your lowest and highest retirement age by, for example, using the calculator provided by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (Eläketurvakeskus) or your authorised pensions provider.

You must apply for a pension yourself from your pension provider, as it does not start automatically.

In Finland pensions are taxable income.

Earnings-related pension

When you work, earnings-related pension insurance contributions are deducted from your salary. The higher your wage or income as an entrepreneur and the longer you work, the higher your earnings-related pension will be.

Earnings-related pension companies, pension funds and pension foundations manage earning-related pensions. The Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) takes care of issues related to pension security in a centralised manner.

Check your accumulated pension from your pension record

From your pension record (työeläkeote) you can check where you have accumulated pension thus far and how much. Your pension provider will send you a pension record at regular intervals. You can also check your earnings-related pension record on your pension provider’s website or in the Työeläke online service. The information online is always up to date.

Keep an eye on your pension record to ensure that all your earnings have been recorded on it. If there is an error in the information, contact your pension provider.

National pension and guarantee pension

You can apply for national pension if you have not accumulated earnings-related pension or if it is very small.The amount of national pension is affected by how long you have lived or worked in Finland. In addition to this, your family situation and other continuous pension income affect the amount of national pension paid. Kela handles national pensions and guarantee pensions.

You can apply for national pension and guarantee pension if you are covered by Finnish social security and have resided in Finland for at least 3 years since you turned 16. The time you have lived in another EU or EEC country may also be partially considered.

Guarantee pension provides pensioners with minimum livelihood. The amount of guarantee pension you will receive is the difference between the other pensions you might receive and the full guarantee pension. If the sum total of your other pensions is more that the full guarantee pension, you are not eligible for guarantee pension. More information on guarantee pension is available at Kela.

In some cases, you can also receive a national pension before turning 65. More information on early national pension and additional days related to national pension can be obtained from Kela.

As an entrepreneur, you must take out a compulsory pension insurance. Every month, you pay an insurance fee that accrues to your pension. If you pay more, you will earn a higher pension.

If you are self-employed, you must take out the  self-employed person's pension insurance YEL (yrittäjän eläkevakuutus YEL). You can take out your pension insurance from an authorised pension provider or pension fund of your choice. If you are an agricultural entrepreneur or receive a grant, then you must take out a pension insurance for agricultural entrepreneurs, or MYEL insurance (MYEL-vakuutus).

The YEL pension insurance secures your livelihood if you retire on a disability pension or old-age pension and your entrepreneurial activity ends. Relatives may receive a survivors’ pension after the death of the entrepreneur. In addition to the earnings-related pension, the entrepreneur’s YEL insurance affects the amount of Kela benefits, such as sickness allowance, unemployment benefit or parental allowance. 

If your earnings-related pension is small, you can also receive a national pension or a guarantee pension from Kela. More information on pensions is available from Kela or your pension provider.

Pensions do not start automatically, they must be applied for. You can apply for a pension from both your pension provider and Kela with the same application.

Generally, it is possible to apply for a pension electronically in the online service of a pension provider. When you apply for a pension electronically, you will receive a decision faster. If applying online is not possible, you can apply for your pension using a paper form. The forms can be found on the website of Kela, the Finnish Centre for Pensions or your pension provider.

Takuueläkettä voit hakea Kelan verkkopalvelussa tai Kelan toimistossa. Kelan vanhuuseläkettä ja takuueläkettä voit hakea myös soittamalla. Kelan eläkeasioiden palvelunumero on 020 692 202.

Pension from abroad

If you have resided or worked in other EU countries or in countries with which Finland has a social security agreement, you might be eligible to receive pension from these countries. You can apply for a pension from these countries at the same time as you apply for an earnings-related or national pension from Finland. Attach to your application a separate form called Residence and Employment Abroad (Asuminen ja työnteko ulkomailla) (liite U). Some pension providers offer the form electronically. If not, you can print the form at the website of Kela or the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

If you have worked in a country with which Finland does not have a social security agreement, you must find out for yourself if you are eligible to receive pension from that country. If you are entitled to receive pension, you must apply for it yourself.

The Finnish Centre for Pension will give you advice for applying for pension abroad. Read more on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pension. You can also ask for advice at Kela.

Earnings-related pension paid abroad

If you leave Finland, you will be paid earnings-related pension accrued in Finland when you reach retirement age. Earnings-related pension can be paid to any country. Before applying for a pension, check from your pension record how much pension you have accumulated in Finland. You can view the pension record on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Log in using your Finnish online banking credentials, mobile ID or identity card with a chip. If you do not have them, you can request a pension record from your own earnings-related pension provider or the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

The way in which you should apply for pension to be paid abroad depends on your country of residence. If you live in an EU/EEA country or in a country with which Finland has a social security agreement, you must apply for a pension from the pension authority of your country of residence.

If you live in some other country, apply for the pension directly from Finland. Fill in the Finnish pension application and submit it to your pension provider or the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

Kela pensions paid abroad

Always notify Kela if you move abroad permanently or reside in a foreign country for more than three months.

If your residence abroad is temporary, i.e. less than one year, Kela will usually continue to pay your pension normally. If your residence abroad is temporary, i.e. less than one year, Kela will usually continue to pay your pension normally. When you move to live abroad for more than one year, you cannot usually receive Kela’s old-age pension or disability pension from Finland. Kela will also not pay a guarantee pension abroad.

However, in some cases, Kela can pay a pension to countries with which Finland has a social security agreement. They include countries such as the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile and Australia. 

Kela website contains further information on incidences when you can receive Kela pensions abroad. You can also ask about your situation at a Kela office or telephone service.

If you have turned 61 or 62, you can enter partial retirement before your minimum old-age pension age. The pension age limit depends on your year of birth. This arrangement is called partial early old-age pension. You can choose whether to receive 25% of 50% of your monthly earning-related pension amount. If you wish, you can continue working full-time or agree upon shorter working hours with your employer. You can also stop working altogether. Please note that the partial early old-age pension will permanently reduce the ultimate amount of your old-age pension. Ask your pension institution for more information.

If you are ill for a long time, you will normally receive sickness allowance for about a year. If you cannot return to work due to an illness or injury, you can apply for a disability pension (työkyvyttömyyseläke) or rehabilitation subsidy (kuntoutustuki).

A partial disability pension (osatyökyvyttömyyseläke) secures your livelihood if your ability to work has deteriorated, but you can still work part-time. The amount of the partial disability pension is half of the amount of the disability pension.

Apply for a disability pension electronically. With the same application, you can apply for a disability pension from both the earnings-related pension system and Kela. You must attach medical certificate B to your application. Kela and your authorised pension provider will evaluate whether you are fit for work and whether you would benefit from rehabilitation. Further information on disability pension and rehabilitation subsidy is available from Kela, your pension institution or from your occupational health care provider.

If you are doing gainful employment or entrepreneurial activities on a disability pension, ask Kela or your pension provider how much you can earn. If your earned income per month is sufficiently large, you can let your pension lie. This means that you can take a break from collecting your pension. The break can be at least three months and at most two years long. You will not lose your right to receive disability pension during the time that you let your pension lie.

In addition to pension, Kela may pay pensioners with low income housing allowance for pensioners. More information on housing allowance for pensioners is available on the Kela website.

Kela may pay care allowance for pensioners for individuals with long-term illness or disabled people. Ask for more information at Kela.

After you have retired, you can receive pensioner discounts, for example, for train, plane and bus fares in Finland. Persons of 65 years old or over receive a discount on a travel fare by presenting their identity card. A pensioner under 65 years of age can receive discounts by presenting their identity card and earnings-related pension card or national pension card. Check the conditions of pensioner discounts from a ticket office.

You can also receive pensioner discounts, for example, for recreational sports and cultural activities.