Situations faced by foreign pension recipients

Your foreign pension provider may require that you send a life certificate which must be ordered annually from the Population Information SystemOpens in a new window. to confirm your personal data and that you are still alive. Send the certificate to the payer of your foreign pension in accordance with the instructions you have received to ensure that the payment of your foreign pension will not be interrupted. 

How to submit the life certificate:  

• The pension authorities in some countries will remind you of the submission of the certificate, but others will not. In the latter case, you must submit it on your own initiative.  
• Some foreign pension providers will send you a form asking you to confirm your current personal data. Usually, they require confirmation from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) for the form, i.e. a signature and stamp confirming that you are still alive. 
• If you live in Finland, you can request the life certificate from DVV. Do this if you need to confirm your personal data annually and your foreign pension provider does not have a separate form for confirming your data.   
• If you permanently live abroad, you cannot request a life certificate from DVV. To get one, you must personally visit either a Finnish Embassy or a DVV service point. In the latter case, you must book an appointment with a notary public. 
• Some foreign pension providers also use electronic means of confirming personal data.  

Additional information about pensions in different countries and confirming that you are alive (in Finnish) - Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window.

The payment of an old-age pension will end at the end of the month during which the pensioner has passed away.  

The Finnish Centre for Pensions will receive a notice of the pensioner’s death with a slight delay once the information has been updated in the Population Information System. Once it has received the information, the Finnish Centre for Pensions will inform the foreign pension providers that, according to the records of the Finnish Centre for Pensions, are paying statutory pensions to the pensioner. 

The next of kin should notify the foreign pension provider of the death of the pensioner as soon as possible. This is to avoid the overpayment of pension, as the pension provider will recover any excess pension paid. If the next of kin are unsure of from which pension provider or country the pensioner received a pension, they can contact the customer service of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. 

You must report any material changes in your circumstances to your foreign pension provider as soon as possible. 

The information required varies from country to country, but most foreign pension providers request the following: 

• Change of bank account number 
• Change of address 
• Change of marital status (marriage, divorce or widowhood) 
• Start of employment or business operations.

The foreign pension provider may also periodically check your income and benefits. Responding to these questions is a prerequisite for continued pension payments. 

Additional information about pensions in different countries and country-specific contact details (in Finnish) - Työeläke.fiOpens in a new window.

When you move to Finland from abroad, you must submit a move notification and handle permits and taxation matters. You should also sort out all matters related to healthcare, housing and other life arrangements. 

Move notification and permits 

• Submit a move notification to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV)Opens in a new window. to apply for a municipality of residence in Finland. As a rule, access to public services requires a municipality of residence in Finland. 
• Inform Kela of your moveOpens in a new window. so that you will get a Kela card and be entitled to receive benefits and reimbursements. Kela will determine your eligibility for health insurance and healthcare benefits. 
• Submit your new address to your pension provider in Finland. 
• If you are bringing any property with you, check the CustomsOpens in a new window. website to see if you are eligible for duty-free import. 
• If you are not a Finnish citizen, see the instructions on the As an immigrant in Finland page. 

Foreign pension provider 

• Inform your foreign pension provider of your move. 
• Respond to the pension provider’s certificate requests. You can request a life certificate from DVVOpens in a new window.. 

Also note the following

• Sort out the taxation of your foreign pension. If you come to Finland for more than six months, you must pay taxes in Finland on income that you receive from Finland and from other countries.  For more information, see Vero.fi: Taxation of pensioners moving to Finland from abroadOpens in a new window.. 
• If you need advice on any matters involving the move to Finland, you can contact the senior services of Suomi-Seura (in Finnish)Opens in a new window..