You earn pension for work you do in Finland. Your employer takes out pension insurance for you and pays your share and the employer’s share of the contributions to the pension provider. If you are self-employed, you must take out the insurance and pay the contributions yourself. Your pension grows for all work that you have insured, regardless of for how long you work.
The amount of your pension depends on the length of your work, your earnings and the accrual rates in Finland. Earnings-related pension that you have accrued in Finland will be paid out to you regardless of your nationality or in which country you live.
The pension record includes information on all earnings you have had so far for which you accrue pension. Your future pension amount depends on the information on your pension record.
Log in to view your pension record
If you live abroad, you can request the pension record from your own pension provider or by phone from the Finnish Centre for Pensions at +358 29 411 2110.
Your country of residence determines how you can claim a pension
How you claim your pension from Finland depends on in which country you reside when you claim the pension. The retirement age in Finland may deviate from the one in the country in which you reside. In other words, it is possible that you may have to claim your pension from Finland at a different point in time than your pension from the country in which you reside. You can continue working in your country of residence even if you claim an old-age pension from Finland.
Submit your pension claim to the pension authority in your country of residence. The pension authority will forward your claim to Finland. In Finland, your claim will be forwarded to your earnings-related pension provider and/or Kela, depending on which pension benefit you are claiming.
Submit your pension claim to the pension institution in your country of residence. The pension provider in your country of residence will transfer your claim to Finland. In Finland, your claim will be forwarded to your earnings-related pension provider and/or Kela, depending on which pension benefit you are claiming.
The social security agreements are different from each other and, depending on the agreement, you may be entitled only to an earnings-related pension from Finland. For more information on national pensions paid to social security agreement countries, go to Kela’s website.
If you reside in a country with which Finland does not have a social security agreement, you can claim an earnings-related pension from Finland. Fill out the Finnish national claim form and return it to the Finnish Centre for Pensions or your own earnings-related pension provider. You can use a printed form or an online form that you can print out. Go to the footer or menu of Työeläke.fi to find the forms.
If you reside in China, you can apply for an earnings-related pension under the social security agreement (old-age pension, disability pension and survivors’ pension). Fill out the Finnish national claim form and return it to the Finnish Centre for Pensions or your own earnings-related pension provider. You can use a printed form or an online form that you can print out. Go to the footer or menu of Työeläke.fi to find the forms.
In Finland, your pension claim will be handled by an earnings-related pension provider as far as the earnings-related pension is concerned, and by Kela if you are claiming a national pension.
Note! The amount of the Finnish earnings-related pension you claim will not change if you reside in Finland at the moment but move abroad when you have already begun receiving your earnings-related pension.
Pension decision and pension payments
You will get the pension decision from your earnings-related pension provider as far as the earnings-related pension is concerned. If you have claimed a national pension, you will get your pension decision from Kela. The pension decisions are sent to you by post to the address you have entered on your pension claim.
The pension provider that has granted you the earnings-related pension also pays out the pension. You will get a separate pension from Kela if you are entitled to a national pension. Your earnings-related pension will be paid once a month to the bank account number that you have provided in your pension application. The date of payment varies from pension provider to pension provider, but most of them pay out pensions on the first banking day of the month.
If your pension is small, it may be paid as a lump sum. Earnings-related pensions are also paid abroad, regardless of your nationality. Go to Kela’s website for more information on the national pension.
Your pension from Finland may affect the benefits of your country of residence
A pension paid from Finland may affect your pension or other social benefits paid in your country of residence. Before you claim a pension from Finland, check with the authorities in your country of residence how the Finnish pension may affect the pensions or other social benefits that you are receiving.
Different pension benefits
You can get a pension from Finland to your country of residence in the form of an old-age, a disability or a survivors’ pension.
The retirement age for an old-age pension depends on the year in which you were born. The time you have taken care of your children or your profession do not affect your retirement age for the old-age pension.
Select your year and month of birth. The calculator will tell you when you can retire.
The partial old-age pension is a flexible pension benefit. To qualify for a partial old-age pension, you must have been born in or before 1963 and be at least 61 years old. The minimum age rises to 62 for those born in 1964. You can continue working in your country of residence and take out a partial old-age pension from Finland. There are no limits as to how much you can work, but you are also not required to work. Any pension you get from your country of residence does not affect the partial old-age pension that you are granted from Finland. The pension amount you have earned in Finland will be permanently reduced if you take out an early partial old-age pension.
If you suffer from an illness, defect or injury, you can get a disability pension if your work ability has been reduced long-term (as a rule, for at least one year without interruptions). Attach a medical statement to your claim for a disability pension. You can get the medical statement in your country of residence.
If your spouse (married or common-law) or parent dies and has worked in Finland at some point, you may be entitled to a Finnish survivors’ pension. Getting the surviving spouse’s pension or the orphan’s pension does not require that you have resided in Finland. If you are a common-law spouse, you must attach adequate documentation of the cohabiting abroad. The documentation can consist of a statement issued by the competent authority of the country in which you resided with the deceased person. Your pension provider will assess whether the documentation you provide is adequate.
Read more about the different pension benefits: old-age pension, partial old-age pension, disability pension and survivors’ pension.
Keep in mind when you are retired
You must report any changes to your circumstances directly to the pension provider that pays out your pension. Such changes include changes in marital status, address and banking data.
If you reside permanently elsewhere than in Finland, you have to confirm your information to the payer of the pension each year. If you cannot get the necessary information directly from the authorities in your country of residence you will receive a separate form to your home address. Fill out the form and return it as instructed.