Amount of pension

The amount of your pension is affected by your earnings from employment and the number of years you have worked. Pension for the self-employed is calculated based on YEL confirmed income. Certain other social security benefits also accrue pension.

Check your amount of pension in Varma Online Service

Pension accrues on earnings from employment

For wage-earners, pension accrues on their earnings from employment. Usually, the earnings that accrue pension are the same as the salary that is subject to withholding tax.

We obtain earnings information from the Incomes Register; all employers are obligated to report the salaries they pay to the Incomes Register. Pension is calculated on gross earnings.

For self-employed persons, pension accrues on their confirmed income under YEL insurance.

Pension accrues at a rate of 1.5% per year starting at the age of 17 (or as of 18 if you are self-employed). You earn new pension for work until your maximum retirement age.The maximum retirement age is determined by the year of birth:

  • 68 years for those born in 1957
  • 69 years for those born in 1958-1961 and
  • 70 years for those born in 1962 or after.

Pension is calculated one year at a time.The calculation formula is simple: pension accrues at 1.5% of annual earnings, after which the resulting amount is divided by 12. This gives the amount of pension accrued for one year of work on a monthly basis.

Check your retirement age with our pension calculator

The amount of pension is also affected by

National pension supplements earnings-related pension

National pension can supplement your pension if your earnings-related pension is below Kela’s income limits:

  • EUR 1,624.63 if you live alone (in 2026)
  • EUR 1,455.88 if you live with another person (in 2026)

Please note that only the accurued earnings-related pension amount is considered in the national pension income limit. Any possible increment for deferred retirement is not taken into account.

More information on national pension is available on Kela’s website

Amount of pension in different pension alternatives

Earnings-related pension secures your livelihood in different life situations. You can estimate the amount of your pension by logging in to Varma's online service.

Old-age pension is possible once you have reached your personal minimum retirement age. In order to receive the pension, your employment relationship must be terminated and you have to apply for old-age pension.

Check your retirement age by using the pension calculator

Old-age pension

With partial old-age pension, you can draw 25% or 50% of the pension you have accrued until the turn of the previous year already before you have reached the pensionable age for old-age pension. If you opt for partial old-age pension before reaching the minimum age for old-age pension, the share of the pension you draw will be reduced by 0.4% for each month that your age is lower than the pensionable age for old-age pension.

Partial old-age pension

Disability pension consists of the pension that has accrued up until the start of the disability and often of the so-called projected pension period. Projected pension period means the time between the start of your disability and the minimum retirement age for your age cohort. The amount of the partial disability pension is half of the full disability pension.

Disability pension

The years-of-service pension consists of the pension you have accrued until you retire. It does not take into account the so-called projected pension period, meaning the time between when you retire and your minimum retirement ageThe years-of-service pension consists of the pension you have accrued until you retire. It does not take into account the so-called projected pension period, meaning the time between when you retire and your minimum retirement age.

Years-of-service pension

Your income during vocational rehabilitation is the rehabilitation allowance. The amount of rehabilitation allowance is 33% more than what your calculated disability pension would be.

Varma supports your vocational rehabilitation

The maximum amount of surviving spouse’s pension is half of the deceased’s pension. The amount of the widowed person’s own earnings-related pension may affect the amount of the surviving spouse’s pension to be granted.

Survivors`pension

How does pension accrue on different unpaid periods?

Since 2005, pension has also accrued on many benefits received during unpaid periods. The condition for accruing pension is that you have earned at least EUR 21 514,19 (in 2026) during your career. Different unpaid periods accrue pension according to different percentages. You can see the earnings basis for pension for unpaid periods on your Pension record. Unpaid benefits are usually not shown until the spring of the following year. Pension accrues from the earnings basis at a rate of 1.5% per year.

The earnings basis for maternity, special maternity, paternity and parental allowance (from 1.8.2022 pregnancy, special pregnancy and parental allowance) is usually the income confirmed in taxation. The earnings basis for a self-employed person is the person’s income under YEL or MyEL.

When calculating pension, 121% of the earnings basis is taken into account.

The earnings-related unemployment allowance paid by an unemployment fund accrues pension until the minimum age of retirement. The earnings basis is the earnings on which the unemployment fund calculates the amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance.

The earnings basis for a self-employed person receiving the earnings-related unemployment allowance is, at most, the amount of the person’s confirmed income under YEL.

When calculating pension, 75% of the basis is taken into account.

Pension does not accrue on the basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy (from 1.5.2026 general social security benefit) paid by Kela.

The earnings basis is the earnings on which the job alternation compensation is based. When calculating pension, 55% of the basis is taken into account.

The job alternation leave system has been abolished as of August 1, 2024.

Pension accrues on periods of sickness allowance if the allowance is paid directly to the recipient of the allowance.

  • Sickness allowance, partial sickness allowance and special care allowance: the earnings basis is usually the income confirmed in taxation. The earnings basis for partial sickness allowance is half of that. For the self-employed, the earnings basis is calculated using the YEL confirmed income that is the basis for calculating sickness allowance. When calculating pension, 62% of the basis is taken into account.
  • Daily allowance for a communicable disease: The earnings basis is your salary; for the self-employed, it is their YEL confirmed income. 65% of the basis is taken into account.
  • Rehabilitation allowance: The earnings basis is the person’s average earnings in the five calendar years preceding the year when rehabilitation was applied for. 65% of the basis is taken into account. The earnings basis for Kela’s rehabilitation allowance is usually the income confirmed in taxation. 55% of the basis is taken into account.
  • Daily allowance under motor liability, accident and military injury insurance: the benefit is based on the employer’s report or on your tax information; for the self-employed, it is based on the company’s accounting data. 65% of the basis for the benefit is taken into account.

For employees, the earnings basis is their previous year’s earnings. 

When calculating pension, 65% of the earnings basis is taken into account.

The Act on the Discontinuance of Adult Education Benefits came into effect on 1 June 2024. New adult education allowance can no longer be received for studies that began on or after 1 August 2024.

 

Pension accrues on the basis of a monthly income of EUR 896,42 (2026) from studies leading to a university degree or vocational qualification starting from the age of 18.

  • Higher university degree: pension accrues for a maximum of 5 years.
  • Polytechnic degree and similar degrees: pension accrues for a maximum of 4 years.
  • Lower university degree: pension accrues for a maximum of 3 years.
  • Vocational upper secondary qualification: pension accrues for a maximum of 3 years.

If you are studying for two different degrees or qualifications, they are counted together and the total pension accrual period is limited to five years.

If you are studying for a degree or qualification abroad, you accrue pension the same as for a Finnish degree/qualification. The condition is that you have received financial aid for your studies in accordance with the Finnish Act on Financial Aid for Students.

The pension that has accrued on studies will only show in the pension record once the degree/qualification is completed. Pension that you have accrued for studies in Finland will be listed on your pension record in the spring after the year in which you graduated, mainly by the end of May.

Pension accrues on the basis of a monthly income of EUR 896,42 (2026) from caring for a child under the age of 3 at home. In this case, pension accrues only if there is no pension accrual from employment.

Life expectancy coefficient

The life expectancy coefficient is used when pension begins; in other words, when the pension is calculated.

The life expectancy coefficient is confirmed for each age cohort at the age of 62. The coefficient for your age cohort will be applied to your pension regardless of your age when your pension begins.

The life expectancy coefficient reduces the amount of new pensions as the expected average life expectancy changes. The purpose of the coefficient is to adapt the level of new earnings-related pensions and pension expenditure to rising life expectancy.

Upon reaching the target retirement age, the amount of the pension reduction caused by the life expectancy coefficient is more or less the same as the pension increase brought by the increment for deferred retirement. The life expectancy coefficient is applied every time the pension starts, also at the target retirement age.

Confirmed life expectancy coefficients on the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ website

Increment for deferred retirement after reaching the minimum retirement age

If you retire after your minimum retirement age, the increment for deferred retirement will increase your pension by 0.4% for every month that you defer your retirement.

For example, if you defer your retirement by one year, your pension will be increased by 4.8% (12 x 0.4%).

The increment for deferred retirement does not apply to periods during which you receive unemployment benefits, old-age pension or disability pension.

Earnings-related pension index and wage coefficient

Two indices are used in earnings-related pensions: the wage coefficient and the earnings-related pension index. Both are a combination of Statistics Finland’s Index of Wage and Salary Earnings and Consumer Price Index.

When you retire, the wages and income you earned during your career are adjusted to the level of the year in which your pension begins by a wage coefficient. In the wage coefficient, the change in the level of wage-earners’ earnings is weighted 80% and the change in consumer prices is weighted 20%. 

During your retirement, the earnings-related pension index protects your pension from inflation. The amount of your pension is adjusted by the earnings-related pension index every January. In the earnings-related pension index, the change in consumer prices accounts for 80% and the change in the level of earnings for 20%. 

Read more from our news: Indices for earnings-related pension cover for 2026 have been confirmed

Help with using our services

Take care of your pension matters online

In our online service, you can, for instance

  • check your pension record to see how much pension you have accrued
  • see an estimate of the amount of your future pension
  • calculate estimates for other types of pension
Log in to Varma Online Service

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