YEL contributions of part-time entrepreneurs
The statutory YEL insurance also safeguards the future pension of part-time entrepreneurs. You will need to take out YEL insurance if the price of your work, that is the value of your work input, exceeds the minimum YEL limit and if you also meet the other conditions for YEL insurance. YEL contributions are about a quarter of your YEL income. Even if you are concerned about the cost of YEL, take out the insurance in time so that you will not be liable for retroactive YEL contributions with interest.
You may have considered being a part-time entrepreneur or maybe you have run a small-scale business for a while. Working as a part-time entrepreneur can be your own choice or the only way to find employment. For some, being an entrepreneur brings additional income alongside paid employment or studying. Others may work as an entrepreneur full time, but only seasonally during certain months.
Even if you are a small-scale entrepreneur, you must have pension insurance for your work by taking out YEL insurance. It does not matter whether you use an invoicing service or do all admin tasks yourself. On old-age pension, taking out YEL insurance is voluntary. However, you will need to take out YEL insurance if you run your business and you are on partial old-age pension or disability pension and meet the other conditions. Whenever the five conditions laid down in the legislation are met, you must have a valid YEL insurance, and you must pay YEL contributions. These conditions concern your age, the duration of your entrepreneurship, the price of your work, the type of your company, living and primarily working in Finland.
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How much are YEL contributions for part-time entrepreneurs?
The YEL contribution is a certain percentage – approximately 25% – of your YEL income. The contribution percentages are the same for both full-time and part-time entrepreneurs.
In 2025, the YEL contribution is 24.10% for entrepreneurs under the age of 53 and over the age of 62 and 25.60% of the confirmed income for those aged 53–62. The percentages were the same in 2024.
For those in part-time self-employment, the YEL contribution is often lower than for full-time self-employed persons, as the value of their work input, or the YEL income, is also lower. You do not need to take out the statutory YEL insurance at all if the annual value of your work input is less than EUR 9,208.43, or about EUR 767 per month (in 2025).
How much is the YEL contribution? The amount of the contributions depends on your age, if you are self-employed for the first time and how often your invoices are due. In 2025, if your earned income amounted to EUR 9,208.43, or the minimum amount, your monthly contribution after the discount at the age of 43 would have been EUR 144 per month (EUR 185 per month without the discount).
Use the YEL calculator to see how much the YEL contributions are on different incomes
Discount for first-time entrepreneurs
When you start as an entrepreneur for the first time, you are entitled to a 22% discount on your YEL contributions.
If your self-employment ends earlier, you can use the remaining discount period for another period of entrepreneurship.
Remember to deduct your YEL contributions when you file your taxes
You will receive some of the contributions back afterwards through taxation as a lower tax payment, as you can deduct the contributions in full when you file either your own, your spouse's or your potential company's taxes, if your company pays your YEL contributions.
Is income from part-time work always subject to YEL contributions?
You must take out YEL insurance and pay YEL contributions from the time your operations exceed the minimum YEL limit. It does not matter whether you work as an entrepreneur on a part-time, seasonal, small-scale or occasional basis or alongside other employment. Although a smaller work input affects the amount of your YEL income, when it comes to pension insurance, the part-time nature of self-employed work does not determine whether the contributions must be paid. It is also irrelevant if you consider your self-employed work to be your main job or a source of secondary income. You must take out YEL insurance and pay YEL contributions when you meet all five conditions for YEL insurance.
The lower and upper limits of YEL income increase slightly at the beginning of each year when the amounts are adjusted with the wage coefficient following the general development of wage and price levels.
Make sure you take out YEL insurance within six months!
If you take out the insurance retroactively, remember that its validity must begin when you started your self-employed business. YEL contributions must also be paid for the entire validity period of your insurance. For example, if your entrepreneurship subject to YEL begins in January, you have six months to take out YEL insurance retroactively from January. If you take out the insurance at a later date, you may have to pay a negligence surcharge in addition to the earnings-related pension contribution, i.e. a higher earnings-related pension contribution.
YEL insurance can be taken out retroactively for the current and three previous calendar years. You cannot accrue a pension from the time before this. If you take out YEL insurance retroactively, please note that you will need to pay your previous YEL contributions at once. Because of this, we recommend that you take out the insurance as soon as your insurance obligation begins.
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What happens if I have not taken out YEL insurance in time?
If it is found out later that you have not taken out YEL insurance despite meeting the conditions, the Finnish Centre for Pensions will either advise you to take out insurance or take out insurance on your behalf. If this happens, you may have to pay a penalty for negligence in addition to the normal YEL pension contributions.
Read more:
YEL contribution: Size of YEL contribution
Does a part-time entrepreneur need YEL insurance?
Who is YEL insurance for and when?
Entrepreneur, this is how you assess your YEL income
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YEL contributions of part-time entrepreneurs
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