When to retire?

You should start planning your retirement well in advance, preferably several years before the retirement age. You can estimate your pension and assess your own coping: would you like to continue working for longer or retire as soon as possible?

You can familiarise yourself with the different pension options and estimate the amount of your future pension with pension calculators, for example. If possible, strive to prepare financially for your retirement, as it means that your income will decrease.

You often encounter concepts that are new to you when planning retirement. You can find explanations on the Getting to know pension terminology page.

The age limits for old-age pension are determined based on your year of birth. The age limits for old-age pensions paid as earnings-related pensions and national pensions are different.

Check your old-age pension retirement age on the Työeläke.fi website.Opens in a new window.

In the case of earnings-related pension, the retirement age for old-age pension is the earliest age at which you can retire. The age is determined according to your year of birth. The retirement ages for self-employed persons are the same as for other employed persons.

• The retirement age for earnings-related pension for those born in 1961 is 64 years and 9 months.
• For those born between 1962 and 1964, the retirement age is 65 years.
• Starting from 1965, the retirement age is linked to changes in life expectancy according to your year of birth and confirmed closer to the retirement age.  

The age at which your insurance obligation ends is the general retirement age according to the Employment Contracts Act, at which time your employment contract will automatically end, unless you agree with your employer to continue working. 

For those born between 1958 and 1961, the age at which the insurance obligation ends is 69 years.

Starting from 1962, the age at which the insurance obligation ends is 70 years.

If you retire from a public sector employment relationship, you may have an “occupational retirement age”, which may differ from the abovementioned age limits.  

The national pension has its own retirement ages:

• The national pension retirement age is 65 if you were born before 1965, unless you have a separate right to early retirement.
• For those born in 1965 and later, the retirement age depends on the retirement age for national pension, which is determined based on the life expectancy. 
• Subject to certain conditions, those born before 1962 may receive early old-age pension at the age of 64. 

The time of retirement depends on your personal situation. If you wish to continue accruing your pension, you can postpone retirement and continue working. 

If you postpone your retirement beyond your retirement age, you will also receive an increment for late retirement for the pension from your entire career. The increment for late retirement is 0.4 % for each month you postpone retirement after your retirement age, i.e. 4.8 % per year.  

However, you will not receive any increment for late retirement if:

• You receive any unemployment benefit
• You already receive a disability pension
• You already receive an old-age pension
• You work while receiving a pension

In the case of national pension, the increment for late retirement is calculated differently from earnings-related pension. If you want to postpone your national pension to start at the beginning of the month following the time you turn 65, your pension will be increased:

• By 0.6 % if you were born before 1962
• By 0.4 % if you were born in or after 1962

You will receive the increment for late retirement for each month during which you postpone your national pension, and there is no upper limit for the increment.

If you are unemployed, you can retire on the same terms as employees and self-employed persons, i.e. at the earliest when you reach your retirement age. Use the Työeläke.fi pension calculator to check your retirement age.Opens in a new window.

If you are unemployed, you can also start to receive a partial early old-age pension.  Before applying for the partial old-age pension, investigate how it will affect the unemployment benefits you receive. The partial early old-age pension must be claimed from a pension provider.

You may receive national pension from Kela for additional days of unemployment allowance already at the age of 64 if you meet all of the following conditions:

• You have been unemployed for a long time
• You have received a basic unemployment allowance from Kela or an earnings-related unemployment allowance from an unemployment fund
• You were born before 1962

If you have been unemployed for a long time, you can choose whether to claim your old-age pension at the age of 64 or later. If you do not wish to claim your old-age pension, you can continue to receive your unemployment allowance until the end of the calendar month during which you turn 65.

Those receiving a labour market subsidy  and self-employed persons are not entitled to additional days of unemployment allowance, which means that they cannot receive any old-age pension on that basis.

Read more about retirement when you are unemployed:

• Old-age pension | Retirement based on age – Elo.fiOpens in a new window.
• When and how can an unemployed person retire? (in Finnish)Opens in a new window. – Ilmarinen.fi Opens in a new window.
• Old-age pension from Kela | Private persons – Kela.fiOpens in a new window.
• Pension security for the unemployed and occupational transitions – Keva.fiOpens in a new window.
• If employment ends before retirement age – Varma.fiOpens in a new window.
• Apply for pension – Veritas.fiOpens in a new window.

If your ability to work is reduced before you reach your retirement age due to illness or disability, you should investigate your opportunity to receive vocational rehabilitation,  i.e. rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension scheme. Your possibility of being rehabilitated so that you can work again will be investigated during the rehabilitation. 

• Rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension scheme – Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window. 
• Kela’s vocational rehabilitationOpens in a new window. 

If you cannot return to full-time work due to illness, find out whether you qualify for any of the following: 

• Disability pension paid by a pension provider, Kela or both  
• Partial disability pension only paid by pension providers 
• Years-of-service pension only paid by pension providers.

If your incapacity for work has been caused by an accident, find out whether you qualify for workers’ compensation pension. 

Disability pension consists of two parts: 

• The pension you had accrued before the incapacity for work started 
• The projected pension component, which is calculated based on the pension you would have accrued had you been able to work until your retirement age.

The partial disability pension is half of the full disability pension.

If you are considering working as an employee or employing yourself alongside your disability pension or years-of-service pension, check with your pension provider or Kela how much you can earn. While on disability pension, you can continue working up to your personal earnings limit, thus accruing more pension. The earnings limit for the years-of-service pension is the same for everyone. 

Read more about working on disability pension paid by KelaOpens in a new window.

If you want to lighten your workload without a work ability assessment, you can consider a partial old-age pension. You can work as much as you like while receiving a partial old-age pension. A partial old-age pension is only paid as an earnings-related pension. 

Check your pension provider to verify your accrued pension and check that all the information in your pension record is correct. Your pension provider maintains information about your career and your accrued pension.

To check your pension provider:

• Log into the Your Pension Provider service at Työeläke.fi (requires strong identification)
• Ask your employer
• Contact the Finnish Centre for Pension customer service

Your pension record shows all the jobs from which you have earned pension so far and how much pension you have accrued. You should regularly check your information (such as once a year), because your pension will be calculated based on this information.

Accessing your pension record:

• Log into the e-service of your pension provider.
• If you do not know your pension provider, log into Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window., and you will be automatically forwarded to your pension provider’s service.

If you are unable to log into the e-service, you can request the pension record from your pension provider. If you do not know your pension provider, contact the Finnish Centre for Pensions customer service.

Your accrued pension is not always shown in real time. Information about degrees and unpaid benefits accruing pension are updated with a delay, later than wage information.

Visit the website of your pension provider to check your pension record:

• Pension record - Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window. (you will be redirected to the e-service of your pension provider)
• Pension record – Elo.fiOpens in a new window.
• Check your pension record – Ilmarinen.fiOpens in a new window.
• My Pension service – Keva.fiOpens in a new window.
• E-service – Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela – Mela.fiOpens in a new window.
• Seafarers' earnings-related pension record - Seafarerspensionfund.fiOpens in a new window.
• Pension record – Varma.fiOpens in a new window.
• Pension record – Veritas.fiOpens in a new window.

You can use the pension calculators to estimate the gross sum of your future old-age pension and partial early old-age pension. Different formulas are used to calculate the national pension issued by Kela and partial early old-age pension.

You can also use the calculators to compare pensions:

• Estimate your old-age pension – Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window.
• Estimate your partial early old-age pension – Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window.

You may receive national pension paid by Kela if you have not accrued any earnings-related pension or your accrued pension is at most 

• EUR 1,624.63 per month if you live alone; or
• EUR 1,455.88 per month if you are married, cohabiting or in a registered partnership.

 Use the formula for national pensionOpens in a new window. to calculate your gross old-age pension, or request an estimate of your pension by calling the Kela service number, 020 692 202.

If you are about to start receiving a partial early old-age pensionOpens in a new window. and want to find out how much pension you will receive, contact Kela.

You can also use the pension calculators of the different pension providers. They will calculate the amount in more detail based on your work history:

• Pension calculator – Elo.fiOpens in a new window.
• Estimate of old-age pension and partial old-age pension – Ilmarinen.fiOpens in a new window.
• My Pension – Keva.fiOpens in a new window.
• Estimate your old-age pension – Varma.fiOpens in a new window.
• Employee’s pension calculator (In Finnish) – Veritas.fiOpens in a new window.

You will have to pay tax on your gross pension. Read more about the taxation of pensions on the website of the Finnish Tax Administration.Opens in a new window.

The following will increase your earnings-related pension:

• Working for longer
• Receiving more wages or income from self-employment

You will also accrue earnings-related pension from the following:

• Studies aiming for a degree
• Certain social benefits
• Employment abroad in some cases
• Compensation received as an informal or family carer

You will not accrue pension from the following:

• Military or civil service
• Work done without a tax card (undeclared work)

Read more about what affects your pension at Työeläke.fi.Opens in a new window.

For practical help and advice on retirement and the completion of your pension application, you should first contact:

• Your pension provider
• Kela

Information is also available from:

• The Finnish Centre for Pensions
• Your trade union
• Your employer
• Colleagues and friends who are in the same situation in life

In addition, pensioner organisations and their local branches provide advice and peer support on retirement.