We have granted you a years-of-service pension. We have sent you the pension decision and a pension calculation showing the amount of your pension, the start date, the payment method and the information on which your pension is based. Below you will find important information about your pension.
Contents
Review the pension decision and calculation
Request for appeal
Starting date of pension
Pension taxation
Apply for a pension tax card as soon as you get your pension decision
Pensions beginning at the end of the year
Index adjustments and tax information at the turn of the year
Other changes in the pension amount – order a new tax card
Earnings-related pension card
Pension amount
Effect of accident and motor liability insurance on your pension
The effect of the life expectancy coefficient on your pension
Gainful employment or entrepreneurial activities alongside pension
Transition of your pension into old-age pension
If your contact information or bank account number changes
Information for pension recipients living abroad
Taxation of pension recipients living abroad
Annual residence report
Additional information and contact information
Review the pension decision and calculation
The amount of your pension is based on your earnings. Check that the information on your earnings is correctly documented in the pension decision and calculation. If you notice anything missing from the information, please contact us.
Request for appeal
If you think the pension decision is incorrect, you can request an appeal. The appeal procedure is attached to the decision. You can also find the appeal instructions and appeal application form on our online service at www.veritas.fi.
Starting date of pension
The earliest possible time for years-of-service pension to begin is the first day of the month after your 63rd birthday.
Pension taxation
Earnings-related pension is considered taxable income. Veritas withholds the tax payable on the pension in accordance with your pension tax card. If we do not have your pension tax card, we will withhold the tax at a rate of 40 per cent.
Apply for a pension tax card as soon as you get your pension decision
Order a tax card for earnings-related pension as soon as possible after receiving your pension decision. A pension tax card can be ordered in two ways:
- from the Tax Administration’s online service at https://www.vero.fi/en/e-file/mytax/
- by calling the Tax Administration’s service number +358 (0)29 497 000.
Ask the Tax Administration to send your tax card directly to Veritas.
If the tax card is valid from the same date on which your pension begins and we have already made pension payments to you at a 40 per cent withholding rate, we will refund the excess portion of the tax. The refund will automatically be made after we have received your tax card.
Pension companies cannot obtain tax cards on behalf of their customers, rather the tax card must be ordered by each individual taxpayer at the start of their pension. We are not able to use the tax card issued for the payment of wages or other income for the purpose of withholding your pension tax.
Pensions beginning at the end of the year
If your pension begins on 1 November or later, order your pension tax card for both the starting year and the following year. The tax amount can only be corrected during the year in which the pension has been paid.
Index adjustments and tax information at the turn of the year
Pensions in payment are adjusted annually, at the beginning of January, with the earnings-related pension index. You can find the index-adjusted amount of your pension in the online service from the end of November. We will notify the tax authorities of the indexed amount of your pension, and we receive directly from them the tax rate to be used for your pension payments the following year. You will also receive information about your updated pension tax rate from the tax authorities.
In the online service you can find information about the pension that has been paid to you and the tax that has been withheld from it each year. We report the paid pensions and the related withholding amounts also to the Incomes Register. You can check the information in the Incomes Register at any time at www.vero.fi/en/incomes-register.
Other changes in the pension amount – order a new tax card
If the amount of your pension is subject to changes other than an index adjustment, you will have to independently order a new pension tax card. For example, if you shift from partial early old-age pension to full old-age pension, a new tax card is required. Also order a new tax card if the amount of your pension based on the provisional decision changes significantly once the final pension decision is made.
Earnings-related pension card
We will send you an earnings-related pension card that you can use to prove that you are a pensioner. The card will be sent by post after the first pension payment. An online version of the pension card can be accessed in the online service at https://veritas.fi/en/log-in/. You can also order a new earnings-related pension card to replace one that is lost or damaged through the online service.
Pension amount
The amount of the earnings-related pension is based on your employment earnings and the insured YEL income earned from entrepreneurial activities. You may have also accrued pension on the basis of the daily allowance you received from unpaid periods and, for example, from studies that led to a degree or a period of home care for a child under three years of age. The accrual of earnings-related pension is governed by law and the regulations have changed over the years. You can find more detailed information on pension accrual, for example, on our website at https://veritas.fi/en/pension-rehabilitation/pension-amount/.
Effect of accident and motor liability insurance on your pension
Any continuing compensation under accident and motor liability insurance legislation will be deducted from the earnings-related pension. If the amount of continuous compensation for statutory accident or motor liability insurance changes or you are granted a new continuous compensation, please inform us immediately so that we can adjust the amount of your pension. If the amount of your pension changes due to compensation, we will issue a new decision on your earnings-related pension.
The effect of the life expectancy coefficient on your pension
Your years-of-service pension is subject to a life expectancy coefficient that adjusts the amount of your pension to correspond to a general change in life expectancy. The life expectancy coefficient verified for the year in which you turn 62 will be applied to your years-of-service pension.
Gainful employment or entrepreneurial activities alongside pension
Minimal earnings do not affect the amount of your years-of-service pension. The limit for earnings is stated in your pension decision. If your earnings are below the stated limit, they will have no effect on your pension. If your earnings exceed the limit, your pension can be suspended or discontinued. Any unduly paid pension payments will be recovered. The earnings limit is revised annually in accordance with the national pension index.
Additional pension is accrued from gainful employment done alongside the years-of-service pension and, therefore, the employee’s share of the pension contribution must also be paid on those earnings. Entrepreneurs and agricultural entrepreneurs are also obliged to take out YEL insurance if they are engaged in entrepreneurial activities while on disability pension and the conditions for YEL or MYEL insurance are met. A new line of pension is accrued from insured entrepreneurial activities.
Your years-of-service pension will continue until you reach the lowest retirement age to receive old-age pension and you will receive the additional pension accrual you have earned from the work done during the pension as part of your old-age pension. The share of the additional accumulation must be applied for with a separate application and the granting of it is subject to the termination of work, in accordance with the conditions for old-age pension.
Please notify us without delay if you enter into gainful employment, your earnings change or you exceed your earnings limits. You can check your earnings limit in euro from our online service at www.veritas.fi.
Transition of your pension into old-age pension
Your pension has been granted on a temporary basis and will continue until your minimum retirement age, at which point it will automatically transition into old-age pension. If you work during years-of service pension and you have accrued a new line of pension, the payment of this pension must be applied for with a separate application.
If your contact information or bank account number changes
If your address changes, submit a move notification to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. We will then automatically receive your new contact information. A pensioner living abroad must independently provide their new address to Veritas.
You can report a changed bank account number through the online service for private customers at www.veritas.fi. Log in to the service using your Finnish online banking codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.
For security reasons, we cannot receive bank account information by phone or e-mail.
Information for pension recipients living abroad
Taxation of pension recipients living abroad
If you live abroad permanently, we will, on your behalf, ask the tax authorities to issue a pension tax card applicable to your Finnish pension. At the end of the year, we will send you a certificate showing the amount of tax collected and the pensions paid for you to attach to the tax return in your country of residence.
Finnish citizens who have moved abroad are generally tax-liable in Finland during the year in which you moved and the following three years. A fully tax-liable pensioner pays tax to Finland on the same grounds as pensioners living in Finland. Pensioners living permanently outside Finland are considered to have limited tax liability in Finland. Even a person with limited tax liability primarily pays Finland taxes on the pension they receive from Finland.
More detailed information on the taxation of non-residents is provided by:
Helsinki Area Tax Office
P.O. Box 400
FI-00052 VERO
Tel. +358 (0)20 697 024
Annual residence report
We send our pension recipients living abroad an annual request to fill out a residence report as a means of providing us with their latest contact information. The residence report will be sent by post in December and must be returned to us by the end of April. You can also provide us with the information requested in the residence report through the online service at www.veritas.fi.
If you move while living abroad, please inform us of your new address.
Additional information and contact information
Information on your pension can be found in the online service for private customers at www.veritas.fi/log in. You can log in to the service using your Finnish online banking codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card. If you have any questions, you can send us a message through our online service. You can also call us at the phone number stated in your pension decision. Our other contact information can be found on our website at www.veritas.fi/en/contact/.