Social insurance contributions in Finland
Employers must take out statutory social insurance in Finland for their employees working in Finland, whether the employer is Finnish or foreign. This insurance covers all employees working in Finland, no matter what country they are from.
Self-employed persons must take out statutory social insurance under the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL insurance) themselves.
Statutory social insurance contributions in Finland
Private pension insurance providers manage statutory Finnish earnings-related pension insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. The Employment Fund manages unemployment insurance. The Tax Administration manages employers’ and employees’ health insurance.
| Statutory social insurance contributions in Finland | Institution managing the insurance | Read more on other sites: |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings-related pension insurance contributions | Earnings-related pension provider | Tyoelake.fi |
| Workers’ compensation insurance contributions | Private insurance companies | Tvk.fi |
| Unemployment insurance contributions | Employment Fund | Employmentfund.fi |
| Employer’s health insurance contributions | Tax Administration | Vero.fi |
| Health insurance contributions (for insured employees) | Tax Administration | Vero.fi |
In addition to the statutory insurance contributions, employers often need to pay group life insurance contributions for their employees, based on collective labour agreements.
Read more on other sites:
Your obligations as an employer
In Finland, the employer must pay the social insurance contributions to the pension insurance provider. As the employer, you withhold the employee’s share of the contribution from their salary and pay your and their share of the contribution to the institution that manages social insurance.
If you have not already done so, take out earnings-related pension insurance and workers’ compensation insurance for your employee from a pension provider of your own choice.
Your obligation is the same regardless of your employee’s nationality or your company’s home country.
However, if your employee is not covered by Finnish social security, you can choose not to withhold their share of the contribution from their wages and not to pay social insurance contributions in Finland. However, in this case you must arrange pension insurance for your employee in the country whose social security they are covered by.
Which contributions are obligatory in international situations?
The booklets (pdf files) below contain more information on how to take out statutory social insurance in Finland. The booklets are in several different languages.
Booklets on Finnish statutory social insurance contributions in different languages:
- English/ in English (pdf)
- Estonian / eesti keelde (pdf)
- French / en français (pdf)
- German / auf Deutsch (pdf)
- Italian / in Italiano (pdf)
- Russian / на русском языке (pdf)
- Spanish/ en español (pdf)
- Swedish/ på svenska (pdf)
- Finnish / suomeksi (pdf)
Social insurance contributions in international work situations
Social insurance contributions in international work situations
Visit the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions to find out which statutory social insurance contributions the employer must pay in Finland when an employee goes abroad to work or comes to Finland to work. The service provides information on contributions payable in Finland on a country-by-country basis.
Authorise your employee to take out statutory social insurance in Finland on your behalf
As a foreign employer, you can authorise your employee to take out statutory insurance in Finland with a Finnish insurance company on your behalf. Your employee gives the power of attorney that you have signed to the earnings-related pension provider of their choice.
However, as the employer, you are always responsible for paying the statutory social insurance contributions.
You must report your employee’s earnings to the Incomes Register. You can also authorise your employee to report their earnings on your behalf.
Read more on other sites:
- Authorisation for taking out Finnish statutory social insurance (pdf form, Lomakepankki.fi)
- Incomes Register (Vero.fi)
Social security when you are self-employed
As a self-employed person, you must take out YEL insurance within six months of starting your business in Finland. You are considered a self-employed person if you do not work in an employment relationship or as a civil servant. The obligation to take out YEL insurance applies also to a foreign self-employed person who carries out a business activity in Finland.
If you meet the requirements of the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL), you need YEL insurance for the work you do in Finland. You also need insurance if you work as a self-employed person on the side (that is, in addition to working as an employee or a civil servant) or if you work as a self-employed person on a seasonal basis.
Contact one of the earnings-related pension companies or pension funds to take out YEL insurance.
Read more on other sites: