Nainen hymyilee, koska yel-vakuutus turvaa eläkkeen.

Self-employed persons’ statutory pension insurance YEL

Self-employed persons’ employment pension insurance YEL covers entrepreneur’s pension and social security.

Is YEL insurance mandatory?

YEL insurance is mandatory for most entrepreneurs and cannot be substituted by voluntary insurance policies. You should take out pension insurance in accordance with the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act immediately when starting your business. We recommend that you take out YEL insurance retroactively within six months of the start of the business at the latest.

YEL insurance builds up your old-age pension. Self-employed persons’ pension insurance also gives you cover if you lose your ability to work, fall ill or go on parental leave. Your family members are entitled to a survivors' pension in the event of your death. The amount of a self-employed person's pension is determined on the basis of YEL income.

According to the Finnish Centre for Pensions, there are approximately 200,000 YEL-insured entrepreneurs in Finland. Persons running a light-entrepreneurship business also need self-employed persons’ pension insurance. Part-time entrepreneurs must take out YEL insurance if the other conditions for insurance are met.

You must take out YEL insurance if:

You are resident in Finland.
You work in your company.
You have been an entrepreneur continuously for at least four months.
Your annual income is at least 9,423.09 euros (in 2026).
You are aged between 18–68. The upper ager limit for insurance increases gradually.

Managers of limited companies who hold more than 30% of the share capital or votes alone or more than 50% of the share capital or votes together with members of their family are also insured under YEL insurance. When shares are jointly owned by the shareholder and their family, the shareholder must own at least one share personally. Partners in general partnerships and general partners in limited partnerships are also insured under YEL insurance.

For private traders, YEL insurance is provided for the self-employed person. Often family members also work in the company. They are insured under YEL or TyEL insurance.

See the video on how you benefit from YEL insurance for self-employed persons.

Self-employed persons’ pension insurance YEL is the basis of the entrepreneur’s pension and social security

When you take out YEL pension insurance, your pension insurance company will give you a personal recommendation on your YEL income amount and flexibility for it to change on a yearly basis. The flexibility allows you to change your YEL income by at most 30 per cent higher or lower than the recommendation. Assess the value of your work input and use the application to provide additional information on your situation, if necessary. Your pension insurance company will approve a YEL income corresponding to your work input on the basis of the overall assessment.

The pension accrued from your entrepreneurship as well as your YEL contributions will be calculated based on your income. Daily allowances paid by Kela, such as sickness and parental allowance, are also calculated based on your confirmed income. YEL income also determines the amount of your unemployment benefit. If you are a member of a self-employed persons’ unemployment fund, you may be eligible for daily allowance based on your YEL income. The entrepreneur’s wellbeing and work ability are essential to the company’s success. You can join the self-employed persons’ unemployment fund and build up an earnings-related allowance when your YEL income is at least 15,481 euros (in 2026).

The certificate of YEL insurance confirms that your insurance is valid and you have paid your YEL contributions and have been working as an entrepreneur. You can get the YEL certificate from your pension insurance company.

YEL income determines your pension, social security and YEL contribution – try the YEL calculator

YEL insurance is statutory, which means that the YEL contribution is the same in all pension insurance companies. The contribution is a fixed percentage of your YEL income. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health confirms the percentage of the contribution annually.

The amount of your YEL contribution is affected by four factors: your confirmed YEL income, the contribution percentage, the due months and whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur.

When you become an entrepreneur for the first time, you will get a new entrepreneur’s discount on your YEL contribution for the first 48 months. The discount is 22% of the contribution. You can use the discount period (48 months) in no more than two parts. For example, if you have YEL pension insurance for 8 months and you terminate it, you have 40 months left of the discount period. You can use the remaining months if you take out YEL pension insurance again later.

YEL contributions are entirely tax-deductible. You can deduct the contributions in your own taxation, your spouse’s taxation or the company’s taxation. Follow the tax authorities’ guidelines when filling out your tax return.

You can calculate your YEL contribution with Ilmarinen’s YEL calculator.

What is the minimum YEL income in 2026?

YEL income refers to the monetary value of your work input. Factors related to the extent and type of your entrepreneur work, such as your working hours, your company’s net sales and the possible seasonality of your business are taken into consideration when determining your YEL income. All work you perform as an entrepreneur counts towards the same YEL income – in other words, you only need to take out one YEL insurance policy. When you take out YEL pension insurance, our partner, Ilmarinen, will recommend a suitable income in euros.

The YEL pension reform entered into force in January 2023. The new law specifies the information used to determine a self-employed person's earned income. The new law defined the factors to be used for determining YEL income in greater detail. YEL income still has a minimum and maximum amount, which are confirmed annually by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health based on the wage coefficient. In 2026, the minimum YEL income is 9,423.09 euros, and the maximum 214,000 euros.

The purpose of the YEL reform is to improve entrepreneurs' security and harmonise how pension insurers determine YEL income. By taking out YEL insurance, you take care of both your pension and your social security. YEL insurance provides protection in various life situations – for example, if your work ability is impaired, or you take parental leave.

Are self-employed persons entitled to YEL sickness allowance?

Entrepreneurs are entitled to Kela’s sickness allowance, which covers losses in earnings due to disability lasting less than a year. The sickness allowance must be applied for from Kela after two months of the beginning of the disability.

The sickness allowance is paid after disability has lasted at least for the qualifying period. If the entrepreneur has YEL insurance, the qualifying period is the date of falling ill. If the entrepreneur does not have YEL insurance, the qualifying period is the same as that for wage-earners: the day of falling ill and the following nine business days.

What is the difference between YEL land TyEL?

Self-employed persons’ pension insurance (YEL) and the employer’s pension insurance (TyEL) both provide cover for retirement. Which one to choose depends on whether the work was done as an assignment or in an employment relationship. The general rule is that if you are an entrepreneur and fulfil the criteria set out above, you choose YEL.

Uncertainty in choosing the right pension insurance may be caused by the fact that the company form, one’s position in the company, and family relations affect the type of insurance chosen.

As a rule, YEL insurance is sufficient for a trader or self-employed person. If salary is paid to the family member of a trader or self-employed person, TyEL insurance is used.
YEL insurance should be selected in a limited liability company if the shareholder holding a managerial position alone owns more than 30 per cent or, together with their family, more than 50 per cent of the company. If ownership is smaller, TyEL insurance should be chosen.
YEL insurance is taken out for a partner working in a general partnership. TyEL insurance is selected for a family member to whom salary is paid.
In a limited partnership, YEL insurance is taken out for a general partner working in the company. Silent partners working in the company and family members who are paid a salary must be insured with TyEL insurance instead. Please note that the obligation to pay YEL contribution may be based on indirect control. If a person owns over half or a corresponding share of the control in a community or consortium with a member of their family, and this community or consortium is part of a limited or general partnership in which the person works, they are considered an entrepreneur in accordance with the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act. You can have indirect control through ways other than a limited liability company.
Freelancers may have an employment relationship with one customer and assignments with other customers. In employment relationships, the employer is responsible for insuring employees with TyEL pension insurance. A situation, for example, where the employer pays salary to a freelancer and supervises the work is considered an employment relationship. If some compensation other than salary is paid, the freelancer must ensure their pension cover by taking out YEL insurance.

One-stop service for all an entrepreneurs’ insurance policies

You can take out mandatory YEL insurance from our partner Ilmarinen conveniently through us. If you want to become Ilmarinen’s customer, we will handle the transfer from your current employment pension provider to Ilmarinen free of charge.

The partnership allows you to easily take care of insurance matters for the entrepreneur and company all at the same time. Our aim is to offer customers a customer relationship team through which communication is smooth and things are taken care of conveniently. This way, you have peace of mind to focus on your company's business.