Applying for pension

Digital application and decision speed up the process
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Pension is a benefit that must be applied for

Before applying for pension, you can estimate the amount of your pension in our online service.

  1. Check this page for your eligibility to receive pension. You should also check what other information is required for completing your application (besides your IBAN account number).
  2. Fill in the electronic application. Check when is the right time to submit an application.

You can apply for both earnings-related and national pension at the same time. Are you eligible for national pension? Check whether you would also be eligible to receive pension from KELA. If an illness is making it difficult for you to continue working, consider applying for rehabilitation.

Is your employee about to retire? What should the employer do? (pdf)

Apply for pension online

Log in using banking codes or a mobile certificate.

Applications

Apply at the right time

In most cases, old-age pension applications are processed within two or three weeks. Applying for a disability pension usually takes longer.

If you have lived or worked in other countries, you generally apply for pension through your country of residence. If you currently live in Finland and previoiusly lived abroad, apply for pension 6 months before you plan to retire. Also fill in the digital Appendix U Residence and Employment Abroad.

How to apply for old-age pension

1. Enter your birth year 1950–1962. 2. Select the situation that applies to you from the timeline.

At work
Applying for pension
Retired

At work

Enter year of birth!

Year of birth must be between 1950 and 1962!

Following the pension reform in 2017, your pension will accrue at 1.5%/year. In addition your pension will increase by 0.4%/deferred month if you continue to work after turning 63.

You can retire on old-age pension at your discretion at any time between the ages of 63 and 68. Discuss retirement matters at your workplace, say, in a personal development discussion.

The pension begins after the end of the employment relationship at the earliest at the beginning of the month following the month in which you turn 63.

If you are between the ages of 53 and 62 your pension will accrue at a rate of 1.7%/year and at a rate of 1.5%/year after you turn 63. In addition your pension will increase by 0.4%/deferred month if you continue to work after turning 63.

You can retire on old-age pension at any time you wish between the upper and lower retirement age limits. The impact of the increase for deferred retirement (0.4%/year as of 2017) based on the pension reform at the target pension age would be equal to the reduction resulting from the life expectancy coefficient at the minimum retirement age.

Discuss retirement matters at your workplace, say, in a personal development discussion.

The pension begins after the end of the employment relationship at the earliest at the beginning of the month following the month in which you reach the minimum retirement age.

Applying for pension

Enter year of birth!

Year of birth must be between 1950 and 1962!

Your minimum retirement age is @MinYear @MinMonth, your target retirement age is @TargetYear @TargetMonth and your maximum retirement age is @MaxYear.
Your minimum retirement age is @MinYear @MinMonth and your maximum retirement age is @MaxYear.

  1. Decide when you want to retire.
  2. Agree on the end of your employment well ahead of time.
  3. Apply for pension 2 weeks prior to the start of your pension. (If you have lived or worked overseas apply 6 months earlier.) When you apply for pension you can order documents containing decisions that concern you to be sent to your electronic archive.
  4. You will receive a final pension decision only once the employer has notified the Incomes Register of the end date of the employment relationship and the payroll information.
  5. You will receive a message when we have made the decision on your pension.  If you had not ordered pension documents to your  electronic archive we will  send the decision by post to your home address.
Fill in the electronic application

Retired

Your pension will be paid into your account after the decision has been sent. In future, the pension will be paid into your account on the first banking day of each month.

The employee pension card that entitles you to pensioner discounts will arrive at your home address within around 2 weeks of the decision. You can also save your electronic employee pension card on your smart phone.

You may take on work after you have retired. Working while on a pension accrues pension at a rate of 1.5% per year without an income limit.

Old age pension in a nutshell

Old-age pension (pdf)

How to apply for old-age pension for the unemployed

1. Enter your birth year 1955–1957.

2. Select the situation that applies to you from the timeline.

Continued unemployment allowance
Applying for pension
Retired

Continued unemployment allowance

Enter year of birth!

Year of birth must be between 1955 and 1957!

At least @MinYear @MinMonth old when unemployment begins. Working for at least 5 out of 20 years.

Unemployment allowance for a max. of 5 days/wk, i.e. for 500 days = approx. 2 yrs.

Additional days because your age when the 500 days expire is at least @AfterExtraAge.

  1. Apply during the month before the start of your retirement. (If you have lived or worked overseas apply 6 months earlier.) Fill in the old-age pension application and choose the item "Old-age pension for persons 62 years or over who have received additional days of unemployment allowance". 
  2. Inform the payer of the allowance of the month at the beginning of which you will retire.
  3. Send us a certificate from your unemployment fund immediately after you receive it.
  4. We will make the pension decision when we receive the final daily allowance data from the earnings register.
  5. You will get a message when we have made a decision on your pension or if you had not ordered your pension documents to your electronic archive we will send the decision by post to your home address. The pension begins at the earliest at the beginning of the month following the month in which you turn 62. Old-age pension for the unemployed is not granted retroactively.
Fill in the electronic application

Retired

Your pension will be paid into your account after the decision has been sent. In future, the pension will be paid into your account on the first banking day of each month.

The employee pension card that entitles you to pensioner discounts will arrive at your home address within around 2 weeks of the decision. You can also save your electronic employee pension card on you smart phone. 

You may take on work after you have retired. Working while on a pension accrues pension at a rate of 1.5% per year without an income limit.

Old-age pension for the unemployed already at the age of 62?

Pension cover for the unemployed (pdf)

How to apply for partial old-age pension

  1. Plan. Estimate the amount of your pension Also think about whether your current employment earnings will change, because working while drawing partial old-age pension is voluntary. You can also think about when you intend to switch to full old-age pension.
  2. Arrange. If you are employed and wish to reduce your working hours, you must arrange that with your employer. If you are an entrepreneur and your work input changes as you begin drawing partial old-age pension, be sure to indicate the amount of your new earned income under the Self-Employed Persons Pensions Act (YEL) in your pension application. Entrepreneurs must have YEL insurance if, while they are drawing partial old-age pension, the amount of their work input exceeds the lower limit for the mandatory insurance (€7,799.37 in 2019).
  3. Apply. Apply for the pension 2 weeks prior to the start of your retirement. Partial old-age pension can begin, at the earliest, at the start of the month after it was applied for.

Please note that when you decide to retire on full old-age pension, you must apply for it separately.

Partial old-age pension (pdf)

Partial old-age pension

  • Age limit 61 years
  • 25 or 50% of the pension accrued up until the end of the previous year
Electronic application

How to apply for disability pension

From sick leave to work, rehabilitation or retirement

1. When thinking about applying for pension

Always find out about the possibility of rehabilitation first.  Calculate an estimate of your rehabilitation allowance and pension online.

You can think about applying for disability pension 2 - 3 months before your period of receiving daily sickness allowance ends, when you have discussed your return to work, rehabilitation and retirement with your doctor and

  • you have not yet reached retirement age
  • your workability is reduced by illness for at least a year

Also think about whether you should apply for partial disability pension.

Disability pension (pdf)

2. Get a Medical Statement B

Before applying for pension you need a Medical Statement B, including an opinion on your workability. You can send us the statement (permitted filename extensions: pdf, jpg, jpeg, jpe, tif, tiff, png) when you fill in the electronic pension application.

3. Fill in the electronic application 2 - 3 months before your period of receiving daily sickness allowance ends

If your earnings-related pension is small, you can also apply for national pension at the same time. If you are granted full disability pension, the pension will usually begin after you have received daily sickness allowance for 300 days, i.e. approximately one year after the illness began.

If you need to apply for a continuation of fixed-term rehabilitation allowance, send us a new medical statement B one month before the allowance ends. You are not required to file a new pension application.

What information do you need when filling in an application? See the checklist

Cash rehabilitation benefit or disability pension?

  • The cash rehabilitation benefit is a fixed-term pension, while disability pension is granted until futher notice.
  • The partial cash rehabilitation benefit or partial disability pension is half of the full pension.

What happens if your application is rejected?

Do you go back to work? Begin rehabilitation? Or should you appeal the decision?

Appealing Varma's decision

Should you apply for the years-of-service pension ?

Were you born in 1956?

Have you performed strenuous and wearing work for at least 38 years?

Have you had breaks totalling more than 3 years during your career?

Are you currently working, or has it been less than one year since you stopped working?

Do you have a reduced ability to work due to illness?

Are you prepared to obtain a Medical Statement B to attach to your application?

Are you prepared to describe your work for at least the past 38 years in your pension application?

The years-of-service pension is probably not the right option for you. Learn more about other types of pension: disability pension, old-age pension, partial old-age pension.

You can consider applying for the years-of-service pension. The lower age limit is 63 years. A person born in 1956 (lower retirement age 63 yrs 6 m) can receive years-of-service pension for no more than 6 months.

Those who have reached their lowest age of retirement can apply for old-age pension. If you meet the conditions for the years-of-service pension you can apply for it. If you are unsure of how much pension you have accrued, you can ask our advisory services for an estimate of the amount of your years-of-service pension. Follow these steps:

  1. Discuss the conditions for receiving the years-of-service pension with your occupational healthcare.
  2. When you have received a Medical Statement B, you can apply for pension. You can send us the statement (permitted filename extensions: pdf, jpg, jpeg, jpe, tif, tiff, png) when you fill in the electronic application.
  3. Be prepared to describe your work for at least the past 38 years in your pension application.
  4. Apply for a preliminary decision on your pension approx. three months before you have planned to retire.

Years-of-service pension (pdf)

Years-of-service pension in brief

A person born in 1956 can opt for years-of-service pension.

  • Agelimit 63 years (below the lowest pensionable age)
  • Strenuous and wearing work for 38 years
  • Workability reduced by illness

A person born in 1956 (lower retirement age 63 years 6 moths) can receive years-of-service pension for no more than 6 months. The pension automatically changes into old-age pension once you reach your retirement age.

How to apply for survivors' pension

Apply for survivors’ pension as soon as possible but no later than 6 months following the death of the primary beneficiary, because, unless there is a specific reason, survivors’ pensions are not payable retroactively for more than six months.

Submit your application to Varma if the insured (i.e. the deceased person) received pension from us or if his/her employment earnings in the two years preceding his/her death were primarily insured by us.

  1. Fill in the surviving spouse’s pension application if you are entitled to survivors' pension.
  2. Fill in a separate survivors’ pension application form for each child.
  3. Fill in an appendix U (Living and working abroad) if you or the primary beneficiary has worked or lived abroad. 

See the PDF forms below to check what information you need when filling in an application. The fastest way to submit your application is through Varma's eServices.

Survivors' pension (pdf)

Survivors’ pension to

  • a child under 18 years of age
  • the spouse of the deceased
  • the surviving partner of a registered partnership

A common-law spouse is not entitled to survivors’ pension.

Check right to pension

Pdf-applications

If you cannot submit the application through eServices use pdf-applications in Työeläke.fi. Please fill in the form preferably on your computer screen, print it out and sign it. You can send in an application either by post to Varma, P.O. Box 3, FI-00098 VARMA or you can scan your signed application and send it in a secure email.

Spouse's pension application (pdf)
Orphan's pension application (pdf)
- Information for pension applicants (pdf)

Residence and employment abroad, appendix U (pdf)
- Instructions for completing appendix U (pdf)

How to send a secure email to Varma

Send an encrypted message at the address https://turvaposti.varma.fi

  1. Enter your own email address as the sender.
  2. Enter skannausepa@varma.fi as the recipient.
  3. Click Continue. Enter the subject and your message. Include the required attachments. Press Send.

You can check the status of your application

Waiting for a pension decision can seem to take a long time. You can follow the processing of your application on our web service. 

The average processing time for old-age pension is less than two weeks on average. Submitting the application earlier will not expedite the process; we will be able to make a decision only after we have received the final, actual pay information from your employer. For this reason, you should not apply until two weeks before the start of the pension. If you have been working abroad, the processing takes longer than average.
The processing time for early old-age pension is about one week.

The processing of a disability pension application takes about six weeks on average. It is advisable to submit your pension application 2–3 months before the end of the 300-day sickness allowance period. You will more likely receive a pension decision from us before the payment of your daily sickness allowance ends.

A survivors’ pension decision is normally made within two weeks. It is possible to follow the processing of a surviving spouse's pension application online.

Please note that it may take longer than usual to process the application if we have to wait for additional information that is required to make a decision.

Appealing Varma's decision

If you have received a decision concerning your pension on rehabilitation from Varma that you are dissatisfied with, you have the right to appeal the decision within 7 + 30 days of posting the decision. If you have opted for an electronic decision, the appeal period is 3 + 30 days. If we cannot change the decision about your application in the manner you request, we will forward your appeal to the Pension Appeal Board.

The appeal must arrive at Varma at the latest by 4 pm (Finnish time) on the last day of the appeal period. If the last day of the appeal period is not a weekday, the appeal can be submitted on the following weekday.

If you are unable to submit an electronic appeal, please deliver the appeal documents to the address Varma, Muutoksenhaku, PL 3, 00098 VARMA or as a secured e-mail to the address https://turvaposti.varma.fi (the recipient being tyokyvyttomyyselake(at)varma.fi).

Submit your appeal online

The fastest way to submit your appeal is through Varma's eServices.

Instructions for Appeal are attached to the decision and you should read them carefully before appealing the decision.

An appeal sent electronically must arrive no later than on the last day of the appeal period.

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