National pension
The national pension and the guarantee pension secure the pensioner’s income if their earnings-related pension is small or they have not earned an earnings-related pension at all. Kela pays out national pension as old-age pension or disability pension. In addition, Kela pays out a guarantee pension if the pensioner’s total pension is below the amount of the full guarantee pension.
Kela benefits also include the survivors’ pension to the surviving spouse and children of the deceased, as well as rehabilitation allowances when a worker’s work ability has weakened.
A pensioner may also get a housing allowance, a pensioner’s care allowance and a child increase. The surviving spouse may also get a housing allowance in addition to the surviving spouse’s pension. War veterans may get a regular and an additional front-veterans’ supplement.
Approximately one in three of all pensioners get a national pension. The level of the full national and guarantee pension is around 25 per cent of the average earnings of Finnish wage earners. The number of pensioners getting a national pension has reduced as a result of legal amendments and an increase in the level of the earnings-related pension.
More on other sites
Pension amount
The national pension and the earnings-related pension are integrated into one total pension. Each euro of the earnings-related pension reduces the full national pension by 50 cents, until the earnings-related pension reaches such a level that the national pension is no longer granted. The old-age and the disability pensions are determined in the same way.
Full national pension (€/month), as of 1 January 2024
| Type of housing | Full national pension | Earnigs-related pension which no longer entitles to a national pension |
|---|---|---|
| Single retiree | 775.70 | 1,601.21 |
| Married or cohabiting retiree | 692.54 | 1,434.88 |
When calculating the national pension, the following pension income reduces the amount of the earnings-related pension:
- voluntary pension arrangements paid for by the employer;
- compensation based on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Act, the Motor Liability Insurance Act and the Military Injuries Insurance Act; and
- pensions and compensation paid from abroad.
However, when calculating the national pension, all components of the earnings-related pension are not considered. The following do not constitute pension income:
- the increment for deferred retirement of the earnings-related pension,
- the pension accrued during studies and periods of caring for one’s own child under the age of 3 (the Act on Compensation from State Funds for Pension Accrual for Periods of Childcare and Periods of Study, VEKL),
- the lump-sum increment to the disability pension paid after five years on a disability pension, and
- the rehabilitation increment of the earnings-related pension.
When calculating the surviving spouse’s pension in the national pension scheme, the same components of the surviving spouse’s own earnings-related pension are considered as when calculating the surviving spouse’s own national pension. However, the earnings-related survivors’ pension is taken into consideration in full, with the exception of the component accrued for periods of studies and taking care of one’s child(ren) under the age of three as well as the deceased person’s lump-sum increment.
The reduction for early retirement that affects the old-age pension after a partial-old-age pension is converted to a full old-age pension is considered as pension income when calculating the national pension. In other words, the national pension does not compensate for the reduction in the earnings-related pension.
If a person who gets a partial old-age pension gets an early old-age pension or an old-age pension from Kela, the amount of the national pension is affected by the part of the old-age pension not taken early and the difference between the projected old-age pension (total pension accrued by the time the individual reaches their retirement age) and the partial old-age pension.
More on other sites
Conditions for getting the national pension
The national pension may be granted to a person who lives in Finland and who has lived in the country for at least three years after reaching the age of 16. If necessary, insurance periods earned in other countries are taken into consideration when the EU Regulation on social security (883/2004) is applied (for more details, go to Kela.fi).
If the residence requirements are met but the applicant or the deceased has lived in Finland for less than 80 per cent of the time between the age of 16 and the start of the pension, the national pension and the survivors’ pension are proportioned to the length of time that the individual has lived in Finland. Under certain conditions, pensions and compensations from abroad reduce the amount of the national pension.
More on other sites
- Pension from abroad to Finland (Kela.fi)
- Pension from Finland to another country (Kela.fi)
- International legislation (Kela.fi)
Old-age pension under the national pension scheme
The retirement age in the earnings-related pension scheme depends on the individual’s year of birth. In the national pension scheme, the retirement age is 65 years. Once the retirement age in the earnings-related pension scheme has risen to 65 years, the retirement age in the national pension scheme will rise along with the retirement age of the earnings-related pension scheme.
In the national pension scheme, an individual born between 1959 and 1961 can retire on an early old-age pension at the age of 64 years. In that case, the monthly pension will be reduced by 0.4 per cent for each month from the month in which the pension is taken out to the month in which the individual reaches their retirement age. For example, if an individual retires on an earnings-related pension at age 64 years and 6 months and wants to get the national pension at the same time, it will be an early old-age pension. The early old-age pension will be abolished as of the generation whose retirement age under the earnings-related pension scheme is 65 years.
If the old-age pension is postponed to begin later than the beginning of the month following the individual’s 65th birthday, the national pension will be increased by 0.6 per cent for each month. The increase is calculated for each month that the pension is postponed. The pension can be postponed for an unlimited number of months. As of those born in 1962, the increment for late retirement is 0.4 per cent.
More on other sites
Disability pension for persons aged 16-64 years
Persons aged 16-64 years may apply for a disability pension, which is awarded either until further notice or as a temporary pension (also called a cash rehabilitation benefit). As a rule, the national pension is granted at the same time as the earnings-related pension, but there are differences in age limits. An individual cannot get an earnings-related pension before the age of 17 and the earnings-related pension is granted as an old-age pension after the individual reaches their retirement age.
Income during short-term illnesses and rehabilitation is secured through the sickness and the rehabilitation allowances paid by Kela until the age of 68.
It is not possible to get a partial disability pension under the national pension system (unlike under the earnings-related pension system).
More on other sites
Early old-age pension to the long-term unemployed
Individuals who have been unemployed for a long time and who are entitled to additional days of the unemployment allowance can get a full national old-age pension as of age 64. Those born in 1962 or later are not entitled to a full old-age pension before they reach their retirement age.
Unemployment pensions are no longer granted. Previously, those born before 1950 were entitled to an unemployment pension under the national pension scheme just as under the earnings-related pension scheme.
More on other sites
Survivors’ pension for the surviving spouse and the children
Surviving spouse’s pension
The survivors’ pension under the national pension scheme is paid to a surviving spouse who is under the age of 65. Under certain conditions, it is also paid to married and cohabiting spouses. A cohabiting spouse is entitled to the survivors’ pension under the national pension scheme if they have a dependent child together with the deceased and the cohabiting continued for at least five years.
Survivors’ pensions were reformed in 2022. As a result, the survivors’ pension is limited to 10 years for surviving spouses born in 1975 or after. However, survivors’ pension is until the youngest recipient of the orphan’s pension turns 18. For those born before 1975, survivors’ pension is paid until the age of 65. The surviving spouse’s pension of cohabiting spouses continues until the youngest child that the surviving spouse had together with the deceased spouse turns 18.
The surviving spouse’s pension consists of a starting and a continuing pension. The surviving spouse is entitled to a starting pension for six months after the death of the other spouse. The starting pension is of a fixed amount, regardless of the surviving spouse’s earnings or wealth.
If the surviving spouse does not care for their own or the deceased spouse’s child under the age of 18, and depending on the surviving spouse’s earnings, the continued pension paid consists only of the additional amount. Half of the full additional amount is paid if the surviving spouse’s monthly gross earnings exceed 65.62 euros. The surviving spouse’s pension is not paid if the monthly gross earnings exceed 1,296.05 euros (€1,128.13/month if the surviving spouse is married or cohabiting).
If the surviving spouse cares for a child under the age of 18, the monthly continuing pension is at least the basic amount (€120.06). Depending on the surviving spouse’s earnings, an additional amount may be paid. The surviving spouse’s pension is not paid if the monthly gross earnings exceed 1,311.80 euros (€1,143.88/month if the surviving spouse is married or cohabiting).
Orphan’s pension
The orphan’s pension is paid to the deceased person’s own or adopted child, or a child who was cared for by the deceased, as long as the child is under 18 years of age. If the child is a full-time student between the ages of 18 and 20, the child can apply for a so-called student’s pension from Kela. The student’s pension includes only the basic amount of the orphan’s pension. If both parents or guardians of the child are dead, an orphan’s pension is paid after them both separately.
The orphan’s pension consists of the basic amount (€70.53/month), regardless of the child’s earnings, and the additional amount (€106.68/month) if the total monthly survivors’ or assistance pension paid by others than Kela is less than 278.96 euros.
More on other sites
Guarantee pension
The purpose of the guarantee pension is to provide residents of Finland with a minimum pension (€976.59 per month) if their total pension incomes before taxes are less than 968.70 euros per month. If the pensioner’s total gross national and earnings-related pensions are less than this, the difference is paid in the form of a guarantee pension.
Approximately 116,000 pensioners, or approximately 7 per cent of all pensioners, get a guarantee pension.
The following qualify for a guarantee pension:
- a person who has turned 62 and gets an old-age pension or an early old-age pension,
- a person who has turned 16 and gets a disability pension,
- a person who gets a pension from the system based on the act on Farmers’ Early Retirement Aid,
- a disabled immigrant who has turned 16, and
- an immigrant who has turned 65.
If the old-age pension has been granted as an early old-age pension, the guarantee pension is reduced by the amount of the reduction for early retirement.
Other pension income reduces the guarantee pension to their full amount. Pension income as a reducing factor is taken into consideration more extensively in the guarantee pension compared to in the national pension.
A person’s family status does not affect the amount of the guarantee pension: a full guarantee pension is always the same regardless of whether the person in question is married, cohabiting or single. Only pension income affects the amount of the guarantee pension.
More on other sites