As a self-employed worker, you must take out pension insurance under the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL) within six months from the date on which you start your self-employment. You are considered a self-employed person if you do not work in an employment or service relationship or as a civil servant. Simploy owning the company does not mean that you must take out insurance, you have to work for the company, as well.
If you do self-employed work on the side (of an employment or service relationship) or if it is seasonal but meets the requirements of self-employment set out in the law, you must take out insurance. In other words, the same rule applies if you are a light entrepreneur or an independent worker.
YEL applies also to a foreign self-employed worker who engages in self-employed work in Finland .
You must take out YEL insurance for your self-employment if:
- you are between 18 and 69 years old (for those born in 1957 or earlier, the insurance obligation ends at age 68, for those born between 1958 and 1961, the insurance obligation ends at age 69, and for those born in 1962 or later, the insurance obligation ends at age 70),
- you work as a self-employed person or a light entrepreneur,
- your self-employment has lasted for at least four months without interruptions after you have turned 18, and
- your confirmed income from work is at least 9,010.28 euros per year (in 2024).
If you work as a self-employed person while drawing an old-age pension, you can take out voluntary YEL insurance.
Note! If you are self-employed and have employees, you have to insure them, as well.
According to YEL, you need insurance if you are a partner to a general partnership or an active partner to a limited partnership. If you are in a leadership position in a limited company and own alone more than 30 per cent, or together with family members, more than 50 per cent of the company or the voting rights.
Depending on the company form and the nature of the work of your family member, they must be insured under the Employees Pensions Act (TyEL), the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL) or not at all.
In unclear cases, the Finnish Centre for Pensions will decide if you are a self-employed person or not.
We have included examples of how pensions should be arranged in different company forms. In the examples, we assume that the other criteria for taking out insurance (age limits, period of work, working in the company and the amount of the confirmed income and paid wage) are met. ‘Family member’ means the family member of the insured self-employed worker.
YEL = Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act
TyEL = Employees Pensions Act
| Private business name | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
| Both spouses work in the company. The company has been registered in the name of only one of the spouses. | Both spouses must be insured under YEL |
Family member
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Family member who
|
Must be insured under YEL |
| General partnership | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
| Partner who works in the company | Must be insured under YEL |
Family member who
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Family member who
|
Is left uninsured |
| Limited partnership | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
| Active partner who works in the limited partnership | Must be insured under YEL |
Silent partner who
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Silent partner who
|
Is left uninsured |
Family member who
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Family member who
|
Is left uninsured |
| Limited company | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
Partner in a limited company who
|
Must be insured under YEL |
Partner in a limited company who
|
Is left uninsured |
Partner’s family member who
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Partner’s sibling who
|
Must be insured under TyEL |
Partner’s sibling who
|
Is left uninsured |
| Cooperative | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
A member in a cooperative who
|
Must be insured under YEL |
| Invoice service company | Earnings-related pension insurance |
|---|---|
| Self-employed persons who procure their own clients and invoice them through an invoice service company. | Insured under the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL) |
If you are in a leading position in the company, persons who live with you and are in a directly descending or ascending line to you are considered your family members.
If you are a self-employed person, your married spouse, domestic or registered partner is a family member, regardless of where they live.
From the point of view of the pension laws, the labour force is divided into employees and self-employed workers. The line between the two is not always clear. If you are an employee, your employer will take care of your insurance. If you are self-employed, you have to take care of it yourself.
You are an employee if you are in an employment relationship or work in the public sector as a civil servant. If you have an employment contract, you have agreed to work for someone else under their supervision and leadership and are paid for that work. The employment contract can be oral or written.
You cannot freely agree with your employer that you are or are not in an employment relationship. The matter is decided on the basis of labour law. The obligation to take out pension insurance is based on the actual nature of the work you do.
TyEL = Employees Pensions Act
YEL= Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act
MYEL = Farmers’ Pensions Act
| Example | Conclusion |
|---|---|
| Leased workforce | In an employment relationship with company leasing out workers |
| Freelancer | Depending on the nature of the work and the working conditions, the freelancer is insured either under TyEL or YEL or MYEL |
| Temp physician | As a rule, physicians doing temping jobs are on the payroll of the company that leases out workers. In that case, their pension contributions are paid by that company, the the health centre. In unclear situations, Keva will decide if the physician is in an employment relationship with the health centre. If the physician is self-employed, they arrange their pension insurance themselves under YEL. |
| Professional athlete | The earnings-related pension acts do not apply to professional athletes. Their pension provision is covered by a separate act. For more information, go to Workers’ Compensation Centre. |
| Private family day carers | Private family day carers are often considered self-employed persons if the carer takes care of several children at the home of the carer. In that case, the family day carer must take out pension insurance under YEL. |