The full amount of the old-age pension for persons living alone is
EUR 787.07 per month
Old-age pension
On this page
You can receive an old-age pension from an authorised pension provider, from Kela, or from both. For more information on earnings-related old-age pensions, contact your authorised pension provider.
Kela pays old-age pension in the form of a national pension.
Can I get an old-age pension?
You can get an old-age pension from Kela if you receive no earnings-related pension at all or if it is maximum of
- EUR 1, 624.63 per month, if you live alone
- EUR 1, 455.88 per month, if you have a spouse or partner or are in a registered partnership.
Your other pensions will be taken into account according to their amount before taxes. See what types of income affect the amount of the old-age pension.
You can get an old-age pension from Kela when you reach age 65. If you were born in or after 1965, your old-age retirement age is determined according to your year of birth. Use the calculator at työeläke.fi to check your retirement age.
In certain situations, you may qualify for an early old-age pension.
In order to get an old-age pension from Kela, you must be living in Finland or you must have lived in Finland for at least three years after reaching age 16. If you have lived in Finland for at least a year, any insurance period accumulated in other EU or EEA countries, in Switzerland or in Great Britain can be taken into account.
If your pension is small, you may have the right to a guarantee pension paid by Kela. Before you can qualify for a guarantee pension, you must first apply for all other pensions you may have the right to. This includes, for example, earnings-related pensions from Finland and abroad. You can be paid a guarantee pension if the total amount of all your pensions before taxes is EUR 978.33 per month or less.
How much is the old-age pension?
*A couple relationship refers to a cohabiting relationship, marriage or registered partnership.
Your income from other pension sources affects the amount of your old-age pension.
The full amount is payable only if you receive no other pensions or if their combined amount before taxes is EUR 66.54 per month or less. If you have more income from pension sources, your old-age pension will be smaller or will not be paid at all.
In other words, your earnings-related pension and other pensions you receive will reduce the amount of your old-age pension if they come to a total of over EUR 66.54 per month. Half of the sum exceeding that amount will be deducted from your old-age pension. So, for example, if your other pensions exceed that limit by EUR 100 per month, half of that, or EUR 50, will be deducted from your old-age pension.
Old-age pensions that are less than EUR 8.01 per month are not paid.
Learn more about how taking an old-age pension early affects its amount.
You must pay taxes on your old-age pension.
There is currently no calculator available for calculating the amount of old-age pension (national pension) paid by Kela, but you can estimate how much old-age pension you can get. You can also use the calculation formula below to calculate your old-age pension or ask for an estimate of the pension amount by calling our customer service number 020 634 2650. If you have lived or worked abroad, you cannot get an estimate of your pension amount.
You can use the formula below to calculate your old-age pension, or you can request an estimate of the amount of your pension by calling our service number 020 692 202.
First, the amount entitling to a full old-age pension is deducted from a person’s earnings-related pensions. Then, half of the resulting amount is deducted from the full old-age pension. As used in the formula, ‘earnings-related pension’ refers to the amount of earnings-related pension before taxes.
Calculation formula for persons who live alone: EUR 787.07 – (earnings-related pensions – EUR 66.54) ÷ 2
Calculation formula for persons living together with another person: EUR 702.69 – (earnings-related pensions – EUR 66.54) ÷ 2
You cannot use these formulas to calculate your pension if you have lived or worked abroad.
When applying for old-age pension, list all countries in which you have lived, worked or studied.
The time you have spent abroad may reduce your pension if you have lived in Finland less than 80% of the time between age 16 and start of pension.
You may have accrued some pension rights abroad. Learn more about how to apply for a pension from abroad.
If you get pension payments from Kela in Finland and you move abroad, Kela may stop the payment of your pension or pensions. The payment of pensions is affected by your country of destination and how long you will stay abroad.
Kela adjusts national pensions annually in line with the National Pensions Index. This may increase or reduce your old-age pension.
The index adjustment is made automatically. You do not have to do anything.
Payment date
If banks are closed on the scheduled payment date, the payments are made on the nearest preceding banking day.
If you move abroad permanently, Kela can in certain situations continue to pay you old-age pension. Learn more about the countries in which you can receive an old-age pension from Kela.
If you live abroad and receive an old-age pension, send a written notification of your foreign bank details (IBAN account number and BIC code) to Kela's Centre for International Affairs. Without the bank account details, the pension cannot be paid.
Effect of other pensions, income and employment on the old-age pension
Nearly all earnings-related pensions and other pensions that are paid on a continuous basis affect the amount of the old-age pension available from Kela. If you do not yet receive an earnings-related pension, the amount of earnings-related pension you have accrued by the time you reach the lowest old-age retirement age will affect the amount of the old-age pension.
Any pensions or benefits you receive from abroad will usually also reduce the old-age pension.
Your other pensions will be taken into account according to their amount before taxes.
The old-age pension available from Kela is reduced by
- earnings-related pensions, such as old-age, disability and survivors’ pensions
- voluntary supplementary pensions and survivors’ pensions that are based on private- or public-sector employment, self-employment or the holding of a public office
- occupational accident pensions, survivors’ pensions, life annuities and assistance pensions payable on the basis of statutory worker’s compensation insurance
- rehabilitation allowance paid on the basis of statutory worker’s compensation insurance
- compensation for loss of income paid on the basis of statutory motor liability insurance
- disability or survivors’ pension paid on the basis of statutory motor liability insurance
- assistance pension paid under the Military Injuries Act
- basic amount of the farm closure compensation
- pensions and compensations from foreign sources.
Rehabilitation allowance and compensation for loss of income do not reduce the old-age pension until one year after the accident or traffic injury.
The amount of the old-age pension is not affected for example by the following
- wage income, capital income or assets
- spouse’s income or assets
- pensions accrued from studying or child care
- a deferral bonus to an earnings-related pension
- one-off increases in disability pensions
- earnings-related pensions accrued from work you have done between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2016 while 63 years of age or older.
Working while on a pension does not affect the amount of the old-age pension. However, you accrue earnings-related pension for any work you do. When the pension you have accrued by working is added to the earnings-related pension, the old-age pension available from Kela will be reduced.
You can work and earn an income while you are being paid an old-age pension without it affecting the payment of your pension. However, you accrue earnings-related pension for any work you do. When this earnings-related pension is granted to you, Kela will review your old-age pension. The earnings-related pension granted to you will affect the amount of your old-age pension.
Estimate how much old-age pension you can get.
Old-age pension in different life situations
You can choose to postpone the start of the old-age pension. In certain situations, you can also take an old-age pension before the regular retirement age.
You do not have to apply for an old-age pension immediately when you turn 65. If you postpone your old-age pension to begin later than the beginning of the month following your 65th birthday, your pension will be increased
- by 0.6% if you are born before 1962
- by 0.4% if you were born in 1962 or later.
This is called the deferral bonus. It is calculated for each month by which you postpone the start of your old-age pension. There is no maximum limit to the amount by which your pension can be increased. However, the pension is not increased for those months for which you are not entitled to an old-age pension from Kela. You are not entitled to a pension if you, for instance, live abroad after having reached the age of 65 years.
If you retire on an earnings-related pension before you turn 65 and your pension is small, you can get an old-age pension from Kela before the regular retirement age. This is called an early old-age pension.
You can be granted early old-age pension only if you were born before 1962.
You can decide for yourself whether to apply for the pension immediately when you retire on an earnings-related pension or when you turn 65. If you decide to apply for a Kela old-age pension at 65, there will be no reduction for early retirement.
Early old-age pension is available starting from age 64 if you were born before 1962.
Taking the old-age pension early reduces its amount
The early old-age pension is permanently lower than the old-age pension that begins at the age of 65. The old-age pension is reduced by 0.4% for each month of early retirement.
If you start your pension immediately when you turn 64, your pension will be permanently 4.8% smaller than it would have been at 65. The old-age pension will not increase even after you turn 65.
Contact Kela if you want to know in advance how much your early old-age pension would be. Please note that if you have lived abroad for a long period of time, we will not be able to provide an exact estimate of your old-age pension.
If you wish to have Kela pay you an old-age pension before you begin to draw an earnings-related pension, your future earnings-related pension will reduce your Kela pension even though you do not receive it yet.
If you have been unemployed for a long time, in some circumstances you may get old-age pension (vanhuuseläke) from Kela a little earlier than usual on the basis of additional days of unemployment allowance.
This right applies to customers who have been transferred to general social security benefit (yleistuki) after getting additional days of basic unemployment allowance (peruspäiväraha) and to customers who get additional days of earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha).
The general social security benefit is a Kela benefit that replaced basic unemployment allowance and labour market subsidy (työmarkkinatuki) on 1 May 2026.
You can start your old-age pension at the age of 64 if you qualify for additional days of unemployment allowance. If Kela grants you old-age pension based on additional days of unemployment allowance, you will get the same amount of pension even if your pension starts before you turn 65. This is not the case with early old-age pension. You can get old-age pension based on additional days if you were born before 1962. Learn more about the additional days of basic unemployment allowance.
You can choose whether to apply for an old-age pension at age 64 or later. If you choose not to apply at age 64, you can be paid unemployment benefits until the end of the calendar month in which you turn 65.
If you apply for old-age pension on the basis of the additional days, you can draw the old-age pension from the beginning of the calendar month following your application. The pension cannot be granted retrospectively.
If you get your old-age pension in the form of an earnings-related pension (työeläke), you can get it starting from the lowest retirement age in your own age group.
How to apply for an old-age pension
Apply for an old-age pension from Kela if your earnings-related pension is less than the income limit for a Kela old-age pension or if you receive no earnings-related pension at all. If you do not know how much your earnings-related pension is, you can visit the website of your authorised pension provider (elakepalvelut.fi).
Apply for an old-age pension on the form Vanhuuseläke EV310 (PDF, in Finnish).
To make sure that the form functions properly, you need to use the latest version of Adobe Reader. It is available as a free download on the Adobe website (get.adobe.com). Read our instructions for technical problems.
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
- After you have filled in the form, save it in PDF format. You do not have to sign the form.
- Send your application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) under Tee hakemus tai ilmoita muutoksista (Submit an application or report changes).
- Send supporting documents in OmaKela by selecting Lähetä liite (Send a supporting document). Take photographs of the documents you are sending if they are not in a digital format.
If you have lived outside Finland, enclose with your application the following document: Appendix U (Residence and employment abroad, ETK/Kela 7110e) (PDF). List all the countries where you have lived, worked or studied. You may have a right to a pension from one or several of such countries.
If you apply for an old-age pension on the basis of additional days of unemployment allowance, include with your application a certificate from the payer about the additional days.
Apply for an old-age pension pension
Submit your application and supporting documents online.
Go to OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. You will also see how much you will get and when it will be paid. If supporting documents are missing from your application, you will get a reminder about that in OmaKela.
In OmaKela, you can also give consent for Kela to send you messages. This will help make your application process and other contacts with Kela quicker.
If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Fill in the form and print it out. Remember to sign the form. Send the form together with any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
If you cannot apply for an old-age pension in OmaKela or on a paper form, you can do so verbally. Call Kela’s customer service number 020 634 2650 or visit a Kela service point.
The decision notice is only in Finnish or Swedish. If you need help with something, you can call one of our English language customer service numbers.
You can also complete and print out the application form ETK/Kela 7001e (PDF). You can use this application to apply for an old-age pension from both Kela and your authorised pension provider. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the form, sign it and send the form and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Apply for earnings-related pension from your authorised pension provider. Go to the e-service of the pension provider (elakepalvelut.fi). Use your online banking codes to log into the service. In the pension provider’s e-service, you can the same time also apply for an old-age pension from Kela.
Things to remember when you apply for an old-age pension
You can apply for a Kela old-age pension retroactively for up to 6 months.
You can apply for an old-age pension from Kela separately or at the same time when applying for an old-age pension from your authorised pension provider.
For example, if you apply for earnings-related pension at age 64, you can also apply for an early old-age pension from Kela. However, the early old-age pension will be permanently smaller than if you had applied for it at 65. You can also apply for an old-age pension from Kela when you turn 65 even if you have retired on an earnings-related pension before that.
If Kela is paying you a disability pension, it will be converted automatically into an old-age pension from the beginning of the month following your 65th birthday, except if you have suspended the disability pension because you are working. In that case, file a separate application for old-age pension when you turn 65.
For information about how long the processing of an application usually takes, see the page titled Application processing times. Your application will take longer to process if you have lived or worked abroad.
If you have worked, studied or lived abroad, it will take longer to process your pension application. Kela must verify all the periods in which you have lived or worked in another country.
If there is a long wait to receive a pension decision from another EU or EEA country or from Switzerland, you can get a temporary decision on a Kela pension.
Contact Kela’s Centre for International Affairs if you have questions about how a period of foreign residence affects your pensions.
Report changes that affect your old-age pension
If you are paid an old-age pension or early old-age pension, you must notify Kela of the following types of changes:
- if you begin to receive another pension, compensation or survivors' pension from Finland or from abroad or if their amount changes for a reason other than indexation
- if a pension you have received is discontinued
- if there is a change in your family circumstances (marriage, cohabitation, separation or divorce).
- you move abroad or stay abroad for more than 3 months.
Report changes in OmaKela.
You can also report changes by calling Kela's customer service number 020 634 2650.
Alternatively, you can complete the form E 285e (pdf) and mail it to KELA, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
What else is going on in your life?
Are you short of money?
If you receive little income from your pensions, you may have a right to a guarantee pension.
Do you need assistance with your housing costs?
You are eligible for the housing allowance for pensioners if you are living permanently in Finland, you have a low income and you receive a pension which entitles you to the housing allowance for pensioners.
Do you have medical or medicine expenses?
You can receive reimbursement for the costs of private healthcare services and prescription medicines prescribed for an illness.
Do you need support because of a disability or severe illness?
The care allowance for pensioners is intended as support for pensioners with a disability or chronic illness in their daily life, functional ability, rehabilitation and care.