Do you have the right to a surviving spouse's pension from Kela?

The purpose of the surviving spouse's pension is to offer financial support to the household after the death of a partner. In Finland, surviving spouse’s pensions are paid by:

• Kela (surviving spouse's pension under the National Pensions Act)
• Authorised pension providers (surviving spouse's pension under the legislation on earnings-related pensions)

You can get a surviving spouse’s pension from Kela if the surviving spouse’s pension paid by the authorised pension provider is small or there is none. Usually both pensions are applied for on the same application form.

Kela pays surviving spouse’s pension only to a widow or widower who is under the age of 65. The surviving spouse's pension available from Kela can include:

• An initial pension (also known as starting pension, paid for a maximum of 6 months)
• A continuing pension, consisting of
  • a basic amount
  • a possible additional amount, if your income is low

Authorised pension providers pay surviving spouse's pensions without any upper age limit. If you are over 65 years of age, apply for a surviving spouse's pension from the authorised pension provider that paid your partner their earnings-related pension.

Use the tool available on the Finnish Centre for Pensions' website (in Finnish) to check if you can get a surviving spouse's pension from an authorised pension provider (Asiointi.etk.fi).

Your right to a surviving spouse's pension depends on the following:

• whether you were married, in a registered partnership or cohabiting
• whether you had any children together
• how long your marriage or cohabitation lasted.

The criteria for a surviving spouse's pension are somewhat different if you and your partner were cohabiting without being married or in a registered partnership. This applies even if you had a child together.

If you had a child together

You can get surviving spouse's pension if

• you were married, in a registered partnership or in a cohabiting relationship before your partner reached the age of 65 years.
• you were in a cohabiting relationship and you lived together continuously for at least 5 years before your partner died and your child was under the age of 18 at the time of your partner's death.

If you did not have any children together

You have the right to surviving spouse’s pension only if all of the following requirements:

• you were at least 50 years old when your partner died
• you had been married or in a registered partnership for at least 5 years
• you married or registered your partnership before you turned 50 and your partner turned 65

If you were in a cohabiting relationship and had no children together, you cannot get a surviving spouse's pension.

Complete these forms:

• Spouse’s pension ETK/Kela 7004e (PDF).
  • Use the same form to apply for both the surviving spouse's initial pension (starting pension) and the basic amount of the spouse’s continuing pension.
• Additional amount of the surviving spouse’s pension EV 277e (PDF)
  • Complete this form if you have a low income and want to apply for an additional amount to the continuing pension. You can apply for the additional amount after the payment of the surviving spouse’s initial pension has ended.
• Residence and employment abroad, ETK/Kela 7110e
  • Complete this form if you or your partner have lived or worked abroad.

You can submit the application in the OmaKela e-service (as a PDF) or by mail. The application form lists the necessary supporting documents.

Your partner's authorised pension provider will pay you a surviving spouse's pension if your partner received or would have received an earnings-related pension from them.

You can apply for it on the same application form as the surviving spouse's pension from Kela. Kela will forward your application to the relevant pension provider.

For more information, contact:

• your partner's authorised pension provider
• Finnish Centre for Pensions (tyoelake.fi)