Payment of pension to countries other than Finland

Earnings-related pension – both personal pension and survivors’ pension – that has accrued in Finland can be paid to a pensioner living in any foreign country. The nationality of the pensioner has no bearing on the payment of the pension.

Pension payment to a foreign bank account

  • Your pension can be paid to your foreign bank account. For that, we require your international IBAN account number and your bank’s BIC or SWIFT code, which your bank can provide you with.
  • If the pension is paid to a foreign account, we will pay the pension in the currency of the destination country.
  • If you want the pension to be paid in euros, you can inform us of it in the online service on the Messages and documents page or via secure e-mail.

Your bank may collect fees for transferring the pension

Varma pays pensions abroad always through a Finnish bank. The bank transfers the pension abroad usually in the currency of the receiving country. If the pension is paid to a country outside the EU and EEA, the Finnish bank will charge a commission on the pension. The foreign receiving bank may charge fees even if the pension is being paid to an EU or EEA country. Contact your foreign bank directly for information about the amount of the fees charged.

Reporting a new account number

You can change your account number yourself in our online service (you need Finnish banking codes or a mobile certificate to log in) or send the information to us by post.

You can print out and post the notification of a changed bank account form or send it to Varma by the “turvaposti” email encryption service. Notify us of your account number in IBAN format and the SWIFT/BIC code, and sign the notification of a changed bank account. Your bank account details cannot be given over the phone or via email, because the notification of a changed bank account must contain the pensioner’s signature.

Notification of a changed bank account form

Notification of moving abroad

If you move from Finland to another country

If you are spending your retirement days abroad, be sure to inform Varma of your foreign address in our online service (you need Finnish banking codes or a mobile certificate to log in), by email or by letter. If you are moving abroad permanently and you have filed a notification of a change of address with the Finnish authorities, be sure to also inform Varma of the date on which you are moving. The move could affect the taxation of your pension.

If you move to a new address abroad

Be sure to inform Varma if your address changes while you are living abroad. It is important that we always have your current address so that we can send you a residence report to be completed every year.

If you move from another country to Finland

If you move back to Finland permanently, you must once again inform Varma of your new address.

Submit the residence report once a year

If you are living abroad permanently, you must annually confirm to us your information using the residence report. Pensioners living abroad receive the annual letter by post. The letter also includes a residence report, which must be completed and signed and returned to Varma. We use the residence report submitted at the beginning of each year to verify the information of our pensioners living abroad in order to avoid making undue pension payments.

You must submit your residence report by the date indicated in the letter even if your circumstances have not changed from the previous year.

We will suspend the payment of pension if we do not receive your residence report. According to the Employees Pensions Act (TyEL section 113, paragraph 2): If the pension provider has reason to suspect that the pension recipient no longer meets the entitlement criteria for the pension, the pension provider may suspend the payment of the pension. We will resume the payment of pension as soon as we receive your residence report.

You can submit your residence report

You can confirm your residence report in Varma Online Service if you have Finnish online banking credentials or mobile ID. If you confirm the notice of residence in our online service, you will not need to return the residence report form you received with the annual letter.

Log in to Varma Online Service

You can send a signed and scanned residence report or a photo of the report by secure e-mail.

Send a secure email message

You can send the completed and signed residence report form by post to Varma, PO Box 3, 00098 VARMA, FINLAND.

You can also provide the information (name, personal identity code, address, date and signature) by means of a free-form letter. You can send a letter to Varma by secure e-mail or by post.

How to send a secure email to Varma

If you do not have personal banking codes you can also send a secure email. Send the signed notification of a changed bank account form, residence report or free-form letter securely to Varma.

  1. Begin by selecting a subject below.
  2. Enter your own email address as the sender. Press Continue.
  3. Write your personal identity code in the subject line. Just put an empty space in the Message field, no text. Include the required attachments. Make sure that your personal identity code is included in the attachments as well. Press Send.

Please note that we will not reply to your message.

Select a subject:

Residence report

Other document

Log in to Varma Online Service to update your information, if you have Finnish banking codes

Help with using our services

Take care of your pension matters online

In our online service, you can, for instance

  • order the employee pension card
  • send and receive messages and attachments
  • view decisions and documents in the electronic archive
  • update your contact details and raise your tax percentage.