Earnings-related pension paid abroad from Finland

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.

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. You can also ask for the pension record by sending a letter of request to the Finnish Centre for Pensions, FI-00065 Eläketurvakeskus, Finland. State your name, your Finnish ID code and your address in the letter and remember to sign it!

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, for example Russia, 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.

Check your retirement age

Select your year and month of birth. The calculator will tell you when you can retire.

Retirement age  

Retirement age

Your retirement age is the first possible age at which you can retire on an old-age pension. The retirement ages are estimates for persons born in 1965 and later.

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Your pension can start at the earliest on
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Your estimated time in retirement based on life expectancy.  

Your estimated time in retirement based on life expectancy.

Life expectancy is the average number of years that a person of a certain age is expected to live if mortality remains unchanged.

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Your target retirement age  

Your target retirement age

At your target retirement age, the increment for deferred retirement has increased your pension as much as your life expectancy coefficient cuts it at your retirement age.

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Your pension can start at the earliest on
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Your estimated time in retirement based on life expectancy.  

Your estimated time in retirement based on life expectancy.

Life expectancy is the average number of years that a person of a certain age is expected to live if mortality remains unchanged.

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Your qualifying age for retirement on a partial old-age pension
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You can take out a partial old-age pension at the earliest as of
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The partial old-age pension is a flexible pension benefit. You can retire early on a partial old-age pension at age 61 at the earliest. 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.