As an employer, you are usually obligated to take out insurance for your employees and pay social security contributions, for example a earnings-related pension insurance contribution.
The data related to the earnings-related pension insurance and the employee's earnings-related pension insurance contribution are reported to the Incomes Register.
Insurance obligation and data to be reported to the Incomes Register
Check the following instruction to see when you, as an employer, are obligated to take out insurance for your employees and what information about contributions must be reported to the Incomes Register.
Take out earnings-related pension insurance if
the employee is aged 17–68 years; and
you pay at least EUR 70,08 in wages a month to the employee.
The insurance obligation ends when the employee turns
68 years, if the person is born in 1957 or earlier
Withhold the contribution from an employee’s wages and report it to the Incomes Register under the income type 413 Employee's earnings-related pension insurance contribution on the earnings payment report.
Also enter Earnings-related pension insurance information, i.e. information about the pensions act according to which the income earner is insured:
Employee's earnings-related pension insurance, Pension insurance for farmers (MYEL) or Pension insurance for the self-employed (YEL).
If required, also specify the pension provider code and pension policy number.
Pay the total amount to the earnings-related pension provider, i.e. the employer’s and the employee’s shares of the earnings-related pension insurance contribution. The earnings-related pension provider calculates the contributions based on the information reported to the Incomes Register.
You get payment information from your own earnings-related pension provider.
Lower limit for earnings-related pension insurance per month.
Lower limit for earnings-related pension insurance per month
Report the pensions act under which the income earner is insured to the Incomes Register. This information defines what other information on the pension insurance is reported to the Incomes Register.
The alternatives are:
Employee's earnings-related pension insurance
Pension insurance for farmers (MYEL)
Pension insurance for the self-employed (YEL)
An income earner may have only one valid earnings-related pension insurance at the same time. The information must be submitted every time the report includes income on which earnings-related pension insurance is based.
Substitute payers do not report the income earner's pension insurance, the pension provider code or the pension policy number; the actual employer reports these.
Employee's earnings-related pension insurance is selected if the income earner is insured under one of the following:
Act on the Orthodox Church (laki ortodoksisesta kirkosta 985/2006);
Provisions on pension laid down in the Act on the Bank of Finland (laki Suomen Pankista 214/1998); or
Provisions on pension laid down in the Provincial Administration Act of Åland (ÅFS 54/2007).
If an income earner is insured under an employee's earnings-related pension insurance, the payer must report the pension provider code of the earnings-related pension provider in which it has insured its employee. The payer must also report the pension policy number. The pension policy number is the number of the employer's insurance policy based on which the data reported to the Incomes Register is relayed to the correct pension provider.
Department and pension group information related to the earnings-related pension insurance policy is not reported to the Incomes Register.
Report the employee's earnings-related pension insurance contribution to the Incomes Register
The employer pays the earnings-related pension provider a total amount which includes both the employer's earnings-related pension insurance contribution and the employee's earnings-related pension insurance contribution.
Only the employee's earnings-related pension insurance contribution collected from the income earner is reported to the Incomes Register. The amount is reported using income type 413 Employee's pension insurance contribution.
The employer's earnings-related pension insurance contribution is not reported to the Incomes Register. The earnings-related pension provider calculates the employer's contribution based on the income reported to the Incomes Register.
Each income type of the Incomes Register has a default for the payment of social insurance contributions. If the income is paid according to the default, the employer will not have to specially determine the social insurance contributions when submitting the report. If income is paid in a non-default situation, the employer must add a separate 'Type of insurance information' entry to the income type.
If the income earner does not need to be insured due to their age, for example, then report it under Pension insurance information. You do not then need to separately specify the insurance information types separately for each income type.
Select Pension insurance for farmers (MYEL) if the income earner is insured in accordance with the Farmers' Pensions Act. The pension insurance contribution for farmers is based on MYEL income from work, based on which the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution determines the pension insurance contributions. MYEL income from work is not reported to the Incomes Register, but the wages paid to the farmer are reported.
If you report wages received by a farmer or their family members, it is important to report MYEL insurance as the earnings-related pension insurance information on each earnings payment report. If this information is not provided on the earnings payment report, double payments of health insurance and pension insurance contributions may be imposed by mistake.
If the income earner is insured under the Farmers' Pensions Act (MYEL), do not report the pension policy number.
Wages paid to a farmer:
The wages are reported to the Incomes Register in the normal manner using income types (for example Time-rate pay).
Report MYEL as the pension insurance information.
Additionally, report the Type of exception to insurance:
No obligation to provide insurance (earnings-related pension insurance)
No obligation to provide insurance (accident and occupational disease insurance)
No obligation to provide insurance (unemployment insurance)
Note! Do not report the type of exception to insurance for the health insurance.
Select Pension insurance for the self-employed (YEL) if the income earner is insured in accordance with the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act. The self-employed person's pension insurance contribution is based on YEL income from work, based on which the pension provider determines the person's pension insurance contributions. YEL income from work is not reported to the Incomes Register, but the wages paid to the self-employed person are reported.
If you report wages received by a self-employed person or their family members, it is important to report YEL insurance as the earnings-related pension insurance information on each earnings payment report. If this information is not provided on the earnings payment report, double payments of health insurance and pension insurance contributions may be imposed by mistake.
If the income earner is insured under the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL), do not report the pension policy number.
Wages paid to a self-employed person:
The wages are reported to the Incomes Register in the normal manner using income types (for example Time-rate pay).
Report YEL as the pension insurance information.
Additionally, report the Type of exception to insurance:
No obligation to provide insurance (earnings-related pension insurance)
No obligation to provide insurance (accident and occupational disease insurance)
No obligation to provide insurance (unemployment insurance)
Note! Do not report the type of exception to insurance for the health insurance.
If the income earner is not subject to Finnish social security or the payer is not obliged to insure the income earner for some other reason, this must be reported to the Incomes Register.
A pension insurance does not need to be taken out for an employee, if:
no employment relationship is formed with the income earner;
the amount of wages paid to the employee per month is less than the lower limit for earnings-related pension insurance (EUR 65.26 per month in 2023);
the employee is under 17 years of age or has turned 68; or
the employee is not covered by Finnish social security.
If you do not need to take out a pension insurance for the employee, report the type of exception to insurance No obligation to provide insurance (earnings-related pension insurance). At the same time, check whether other insurances need to be taken out for the employee. For example, the age limits are different for the different social insurance contributions.
The type of exception to insurance always applies to the entire report, so you do not need to define the insurance contributions when reporting income.
In the Incomes Register's e-service, the No obligation to provide insurance information is reported under the Exceptions to insurance.
Employer's separate report and the pension insurance information
Pension insurance information must be submitted on an employer's separate report when No wages payable data has been specified on the report. No wages payable data can only be reported by a regular employer who has registered with the Tax Administration's Employer Register.
Voluntary earnings-related pension insurances in Finland
A Finnish employer may take out a voluntary earnings-related pension insurance for an employee working abroad even if the employee is not covered by Finnish social security or the employer is not under obligation to provide insurance for the employee. An employee working in Finland cannot be insured with a voluntary earnings-related pension insurance.
Report Voluntary insurance in Finland (earnings-related pension insurance) to the Incomes Register. Report Employee's earnings-related pension insurance as the earnings-related pension insurance information and specify the earnings-related pension provider code and the pension policy number.
