If you are a foreign national working in Finland, you will earn earnings-related pension in Finland in the same way as Finnish citizens. Your employer will arrange pension insurance for you with a Finnish pension provider and will deduct the employee’s pension contribution directly from your wage. Your employer also takes care of other statutory social insurance payments in Finland.
If you work in Finland, both you and your work will be insured in Finland, no matter where your employer is based, what your nationality is, or from which country you came to Finland.
If you are self-employed in Finland, you must arrange your own pension insurance with a Finnish pension insurance company of your choice.
Earn pension for work you do in Finland
You will accrue earnings-related pension for any work you do in Finland, regardless of how long you work. The pension you have earned in Finland remains intact even if you change jobs or your business activities end. It’s not possible to transfer your Finnish pension contributions to another country, nor can you have them refunded if you decide to move away from Finland.
When you reach the qualifying age and are eligible for a pension, you can claim it and receive the pension you have earned in Finland. If you move abroad, your Finnish earnings-related pension will be paid to you in due time wherever you live.
If you have moved to Finland from another country, you may also have the right to get a national or guarantee pension from Kela, providing you meet certain conditions.
Check your accrued pension
You can keep track of how much pension you have earned in Finland by reviewing your pension record. It lists the work for which you have earned pension and how much pension you have earned so far. Check that the information on your pension record is correct. This is very important as your future pension is calculated based on the information on your pension record. If you notice any discrepancies, such as missing periods of employment, please contact the pension provider stated on your pension record.
If you have online banking credentials from a Finnish bank or can use mobile identification, you can conveniently check your pension record online via the service “Check your pension record”. The link to the online service is posted on this website.
If you do not have the required Finnish identification tokens or are unable to log in, you can request your pension record from your own earnings-related pension provider or by calling the Finnish Centre for Pensions on +358 29 411 2110.
Claiming a Finnish pension and your country of residence
Where you live determines how you claim a Finnish pension. If you live in an EU or EEA country, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or a country that has a social security agreement with Finland (Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Israel, Japan, Quebec, South Korea and the United States), you should send your pension claim form to the relevant pension authority in your country of residence. They will forward your pension claim to Finland on your behalf.
If you live in a country not listed above, you must claim the pension from Finland yourself, using the Finnish pension claim form. Please return the form to the Finnish Centre for Pensions or to the pension provider where you were last insured in Finland.
Read more about how to claim a Finnish earnings-related pension when you live abroad
Working temporarily in Finland and the A1 certificate
If you come to work in Finland from another country and you have an A1 certificate from your country of residence, you will still be covered by the social security system of that country while you are working in Finland. This means that social insurance contributions – including those for pension insurance – must be paid in your country of residence, not in Finland. This means you do not earn pension from Finland but from your country of residence.
Read more about insurance for employees posted to Finland from abroad
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