Accruement of pension during unpaid periods

Besides paid employment, earnings-related pension accrues during certain unpaid periods.

Pension accrual in its current form was added to pension acts from the beginning of 2005.

Earnings-related benefits for which pension accrues

earnings-related unemployment allowance and job alternation leave compensation
earnings-related educational benefits and adult education allowance
parental allowances (Kela.fi)
earnings-related sickness allowance and partial sickness allowance (Kela.fi)
rehabilitation allowances provided for in the Acts on earnings-related pensions and rehabilitation allowances
rehabilitation allowances paid as a result of a road accident or workplace accident
special care allowance
per diem allowances paid as a result of a road accident, military injury or workplace accident.

How much pension accrues?

The amount of pension accruing for unpaid periods depends on:

the length of the unpaid period and
your earnings on which the benefit paid to you is based.

The pension accrual rate for unpaid periods is 1.5% a year.

Pension accrues on earnings-related social benefits according to the annual earnings in accordance with the earnings or the Health Insurance Act on which the social benefit in question is calculated. The share of the earnings which accrues pension varies according to the benefit in question between 55 and 121 percent.

Pension accrues on earnings-related unemployment allowance until you reach the lowest pension age in your age group. Pension accrues on other benefits also for as long as your earnings-related pension accrues.

You may also accrue pension from paid employment concurrently with an unpaid period. Pension is accrued from the share of the earnings which is paid to you. An exception to this is maternity allowance, from which some pension is accrued also in cases where it is paid in its entirety to the employer.

See the subheadings below for more details about pension accrual.

Unpaid periods during which pension does not accrue

Pension does not accrue if you

are under the age of 17
have reached the age beyond which earnings-related pension no longer accrues
are on earnings-related unemployment allowance and have reached the lowest general retirement age in your age group
are on full or partial disability pension, or full or partial rehabilitation allowance
are on old-age pension, years’-of-service pension
have received less than EUR 20,571.69 (in 2024 money) in pensionable employment income before retiring.

A foreign pension does not prevent pension accruing for studies leading to a qualification nor does caring for a child under the age of 3.

You do not accrue pension for periods of study and for maternity, paternity and parental leave until you have reached the age of 18.

No pension is accrued on benefits unrelated to earnings, such as Kela’s basic daily allowance.

Likewise, no pension is accrued on employment or road accident pension.

Pension accruing on parental allowances

The amount of pension accruing is calculated on the earnings on which your maternity, special maternity, paternity or parental allowance have been calculated. This means 121% of the earnings on which the daily rate is based is taken into account and pension accrues to you on this amount at the rate of 1.5% a year.

You accrue pension on parental allowances also when the benefit has been paid in full to your employer. In this case, you accrue pension on 21% of the earnings on which the daily rate is based. On top of this, you also accrue pension on the salary paid by your employer over the same period.

If you have no earnings prior to parental leave

Pension accrues during the time you receive parental allowance also when you have no earnings from gainful employment or self-employment on which the daily rate is based.

If you have no gainful employment, you will accrue pension during your period of parental leave in the same way as if your monthly earnings were €857.15 (level in 2024).

Your pension record will show you how much you have accrued

If you have been paid parental allowance after 2005, this will be shown in your pension record under the heading "Eläkettä kartuttaneet sosiaalietuudet".

Periods of parental allowance before 2005

Unlike at present, no pension accrued on parental allowances before 2005.

As a rule, periods of parental leave have not contributed to lowering the amount of pension before 2005 because these were pension-qualifying periods. They were also disregarded when calculating pension earnings.

Pension accruing for care of children under the age of 3 and for parental leave

A parent staying at home to care for their child under the age of 3 and who receives a child home care allowance for this accrues pension.

Pension does not accrue if you were employed or on partial parental leave.

Benefit accrues for periods of care of a child under the age of 3 according to a fixed earnings basis provided by law. The earnings basis in 2024 is EUR 857.15 a month.

For example, if you care for your child under the age 3 on home care allowance for a year, you accrue a pension of EUR 13 a month for this period. Pension of EUR 26 a month accrues if you are two years on home care allowance with a child under the age of 3.

Maternity, paternity and parental leave

Pension also accrues for maternity, paternity and parental leave. In these cases, the amount of pension is calculated on the earnings on which the per diem allowance is based. These earnings are taken into account in the amount of 117%.

Pension accruing for periods of study

The accrual of pension depends on the type of qualification you have completed. You are entitled to the benefit if you study for a vocational upper secondary qualification or higher education degree.

You must complete your qualification or degree to be eligible for the benefit. If you have completed your degree abroad, you must also have received a study grant from Finland to be eligible.

Benefit accrues for periods of study according to a fixed earnings basis provided by law. The earnings basis in 2024 is EUR 857.15 a month.

Qualification or degree	Pension accrues for	Amount of pension accrued each mont
vocational upper secondary qualification (and competence-based qualifications of the same name)	3 years	EUR 39/month
bachelor’s degree awarded by university of applied sciences (or similar)	4 years	EUR 51/month
bachelor’s degree awarded by a university	3 years	EUR 39/month
master’s degree awarder by a university or university of applied sciences	5 years	EUR 64/month

The total time benefit accrues for qualifications or degrees is limited to 5 years. This means that even if you were to complete 3 university degrees, the maximum pension you accrue is EUR 64 a month.

Pension does not accrue on

general education qualifications such as the matriculation examination
post-graduate studies
further vocational qualifications and specialist vocational qualifications
qualifications completed in addition to a lower/higher degree
qualifications or degrees that you have completed before 1 January 2005
qualifications or degrees that you have not completed.

Pension accruing for periods of unemployment

Pension accrues on earnings-related unemployment allowance until you reach the lowest general retirement age in your age group.

The amount of pension is based on the earnings on which your earnings-related pension allowance has been calculated. Your earnings are deemed to be 75% of the earnings on which the unemployment allowance is based. You accrue pension at an annual rate of 1.5% of the earnings on which the allowance is based.

If you have been unemployed after 2005, the periods of unemployment will be shown in your pension record under the heading “Pension-accruing social security benefits” (following gainful employment).

A slightly different pension calculation method applies if you received earnings-related unemployment allowance prior to 2005. This part of the pension is shown in your pension record under “Additional earnings-related pension”.

The easiest way to review your pension record is the My Pension online service.

Pension accruing for job alternation leave

Less pension accrues on job alternation leave than from employment. During job alternation leave your earnings are deemed to be 55% of the earnings on which job alternation compensation is based. Pension then accrues on these earnings at a rate of 1.5%.

Age limit

There is an age limit for job alternation leave. You must start job alternation leave at least three years before you reach the minimum old-age retirement age. This age limit does not apply to persons born before 1957.

More information and advice for those considering job alternation leave

For more information about job alternation leave, please contact your own unemployment fund or Kela. At Kela, job alternation leave comes under employment benefits.