YEL calculator

Calculate the impact of YEL confirmed income on your social security benefits and estimate the size of your insurance contributions using the YEL calculator.

YEL Calculator for the Self-Employed

The calculations are made using the following assumptions:

  • The insurance cover applies to this insurance only and should be considered as an estimation.
  • The YEL income has been in force for two years.
  • The unemployment cover has been calculated under the assumption that the person does not have dependent children.
  • Receiving earnings-related unemployment allowance requires membership in an unemployment fund.
  • The calculator does not take into account the earnings-related pension index nor the wage coefficient.
  • The person lives in Finland.
  • The purchasing power of the pension estimate corresponds to current values.
  • An estimated effect of the life expectancy coefficient is included.
  • The pension is the old-age pension according to the YEL income you enter, from today to the retirement age that the calculator shows. If you don't enter your pension accrued so far, it won't be included in the calculation.
  • The retirement age is only calculated forward. The calculator assumes that you have not retired at your retirement age.

Four tips for using the Calculator for the Self-Employed

  1. It all starts with YEL income. Enter your YEL income in the Annual income field. The YEL income is an estimate of the annual value of your work input. It must match the annual salary that would be paid for the same work to an employee with the same skills as you have. With our YEL income calculator, you get an YEL income recommendation based on your business sector and your company's turnover.
  2. If you would like to also include your pension accrual up to this point, enter the estimate of your accrued earnings-related pension from your pension record in the Accrued pension field. You can check your pension record at any time in Varma Online Service. If you are not yet our customer, you can see the record in the Työeläke.fi service.
  3. Remember that besides your pension, your YEL income determines your social security, such as sickness allowance, unemployment security and parental allowances, while you are working. Check in the Calculator what your pension and social security would be with your YEL income.
  4. Remember that your YEL contributions are fully tax deductible. The YEL contribution calculator helps you decide on a suitable number of instalments. If you are newly self-employed, we will automatically give you a 22% discount on your YEL insurance contributions for the first four years.

What you need to know about YEL insurance

As self-employed you are responsible for organising your pension cover by taking out statutory YEL insurance. You must have YEL insurance if you are self-employed or a light entrepreneur for at least four months and the estimated value of your work input is at least EUR 8,575.45 per year (in 2023).

Read more about when you need YEL insurance

YEL insurance is based on YEL income. It is an estimate of the monetary value of your work input on an annual level. Your YEL income should equal the salary that would be paid to an employee with the same professional skills as you have for carrying out the same work.

Read more about how the confirmed income should be determined

The YEL insurance contribution is calculated as a percentage of your YEL income. The YEL contribution percentage for 2023 is 24.10% for all persons aged 18–52 and for those over 63 years of age. The contribution percentage for those between 53 and 62 is 25.60%. If you are newly self-employed, we will automatically give you a 22% discount on your insurance contributions for the first four years.

Read more about YEL contributions

Besides pension, the YEL income determines your social security while your are working as self-employed. If you have a child and take parental leave, Kela will calculate your parental allowance based on your YEL income. If you fall ill, also Kela’s sickness allowance will be calculated based on the YEL income. When your YEL income is at least EUR 14,088 per year (2023), you can join an unemployment fund for the self-employed.

Change your confirmed income in Varma Online Service

Take out YEL insurance easily online or over the phone

You can take out YEL insurance quickly online. For the insurance application, you only need

  • 2–5 minutes
  • online banking codes or a mobile certificate.

If you already have YEL insurance with another company, we will terminate the insurance with that company on your behalf.

If you are newly self-employed, you automatically get a 22% discount on your insurance contributions for the first four years.

Take out YEL insurance

You can also take out YEL insurance over the phone. Call us at 010 192 100 and we will go over your situation together. We can take care of all your YEL insurance matters for you.

You can reach our customer service from Monday to Friday, 8:00–16:00.

Help with using our services

Take care of your YEL matters online

In our online service, you can, for instance

  • apply for a change in your YEL income
  • view your past and future YEL contribution
  • request an extended term of payment for an invoice

Sign in to the service using your personal banking codes.

Log in to Varma Online Service