Pension must be applied for - one application is enough

All pensions must be applied for, by filling out and signing a pension application. One application is enough when applying for a statutory earnings-related pension and national pension. There is a separate application form for each type of pension. The application can be made on a paper form or on an electronic form which can be filled in on and printed out from the web. The forms are available under the navigation Application forms.

As regards the application for an old-age pension, there is also an electronic application service (available in Finnish and Swedish).The electronic application service can be accessed over the navigation Eläkkeen hakemispalvelu (pension application service).

The Local Government Pensions Institution has its own electronic application service. It is possible to apply for both old-age and part-time pension through the service. User rights to the electronic service are held by the pension agent of the local government employer.

You may submit your application to any of the service points of the authorised pension providers or insurers in the private or public sectors, the Finnish Centre for Pensions, an agent of the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution or to a service point of the Social Insurance Institution (Kela). All of the above will also give you advice on how to apply for a pension.

The pension provider with which you were last insured makes the decision on the earnings-related pension and pays the pension. The decision includes pensions accrued from employment in the private as well as the public sectors. There are, however, some exceptions to this so-called principle of the last provider.

Decisions on national pension are issued by the Social Insurance Institution (Kela).

If you apply for pension from abroad, you will need to complete appendix U in addition to your application, detailing your time spent working or living abroad.

A person who is permanently resident abroad should hand in the pension application to the liaison body in the country of residence, who will then forward the application to Finland.