YEL and unemployment security for the self-employed

You may be eligible for earnings-related unemployment allowance if:

• your YEL income is at least EUR 15,481 in 2026, and
• you are a member of the Entrepreneur Fund.

The amount of your allowance is based on your YEL income. The more accurately your YEL income reflects your work input, the better your unemployment security will match your situation.

By joining an unemployment fund and keeping your YEL insurance up to date, you can ensure that you are entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance if you become unemployed.

Please note that your YEL insurance contributions must also be paid in order for your period of self-employment to count towards the employment condition required for unemployment benefits.

Read more about earnings-related unemployment security for the self-employed on the Entrepreneur Fund’s website

Use the YEL calculator to see how your YEL income affects your unemployment security

If you are not a member of the Entrepreneur Fund, you may be eligible for Kela's general social security benefit.

You may be eligible if you:

• are aged betweeen 18 and 64,
• live permanently in Finland, and
• have registered with the employment services in your municipality of residence.

Read more about the general social security benefit on Kela’s website

Apply to terminate your YEL insurance when you stop working as a self-employed person. Your insurance will end on your last day of self-employment. If necessary, it can also be terminated retrospectively.

Terminate your YEL insurance in Varma Online Service

Read more about terminating YEL insurance