Determining the TyEL contribution

The size of your earnings-related pension contribution depends on your size as an employer and the client bonuses you receive. Read more about how the TyEL contribution is determined and its size on this page.

What does the TyEL contribution consist of?

Your TyEL contribution is affected by the following:

  • Your size as an employer
  • The client bonuses you receive 
  • A company-specific administrative cost
  • As a large employer, your contribution is also impacted by other discounts and your employees’ work ability.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health annually confirms the principles for calculating the earnings-related pension contribution.

  1. The basic TyEL contribution was reduced for the rest of the year 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020. The reduction reduced the employer’s share of the TyEL contribution by 2.6 percentage points of the wages and salaries paid between 1 May and 31 December 2020. The corona discount was compensated for in 2022-2025 by raising the employer’s share of the TyEL contribution. In 2025 the repayment raised the employer’s share of the TyEL contribution by 0.45 percentage points. 

Average TyEL contribution

The average TyEL contribution is a contribution percentage that takes into account the average client bonus of the whole earnings-related pension sector and other contribution discounts.

Basic and average TyEL contribution rates in 2025 and 2026

TyEL contribution 2026, % of payroll 2025, % of payroll
Average TyEL contribution 24.40 24.85
Basic TyEL contribution 24.85* 25.28*

* The percentage does not take into account company-specific administrative cost. 

Components of the TyEL contribution

The TyEL contribution you pay consists of six different components. The various components are used to finance different types of pension, such as old-age and disability pensions. They are also used to finance pension administration and cover contribution losses and other expenses.

The largest of the six components of the TyEL contribution is the pooled component that is used to finance, for example, old-age pensions and the index increments of all pensions. The largest part of the TyEL contribution is used to pay current pensions. Around one fifth of the contribution is funded for future pensions.

Components of the average TyEL contribution in 2025

 Component What is financed with the component What affects the size of the component % of payroll
Old-age pension Old-age pensions,funded portion Age and gender of employee 3.71
Disability pension Disability pension and maintaining work ability Age of employee and own disability pensions
(size of employer)
0.8
Pooled component Old-age pensions (unfunded component), years of service pensions,part-time pensions, survivors pensions, rehabilitation increments, index increments on pension etc Age and gender of employee 20.11
Other Contribution losses, administrative costs and statutory payments, and expenses of the Finnish Centre for Pensions, judicial administration charges,supervision charges of the Financial Supervisory Authority Size of employer 0.28
Client bonus   The customer rebate is a payment discount for the employer and it depends on the earnings of the occupational pension institution's investments. Customer rebates are paid to contractual employers. -0.5
Average TyEL contribution     24.40

 

  1. As an employer, you collect your employee’s share of the contribution from his or her pay and pay us the entire TyEL contribution.

    Starting in 2026, the employee's share of the contribution will be the same for everyone, regardless of age. In the past, employees aged 53–62 have paid a higher contribution than other age groups. In return, they have also accrued more pension.

    Employee’s share of the TyEL contribution in 2025 and 2026

    Employee's share of contribution 2026, % of pay 2025, % of pay
    Employee 17-52 years old 7.30 7.15
    Employee 53-62 years old 7.30 8.65
    Employee 63-67 years old 7.30 7.15

     

    Withhold the employee’s contribution from his or her pay also when

    • your employee receives pension in addition to the pay
    • you have taken out voluntary TyEL insurance for the employee for work abroad or a position of trust
    • you have taken out voluntary insurance for the employee even if his or her pay falls below the TyEL lower limit. Your obligation to insure starts when you pay an employee at least EUR 71.72 per month in 2026, or when you paid him or her EUR 70.08 per month in 2025

    Report all the salaries and wages you have paid to the Incomes Register. 

Client bonus

As a TyEL contract employer, you will receive an annual client bonus from Ilmarinen, which reduces your insurance contribution. The bonus is paid once a year after Ilmarinen's financial statements are finalized, at which time the client bonus accrued from the previous year is paid out. This means you will receive the client bonus once a year.

You will receive a client bonus as long as your TyEL insurance is valid at Ilmarinen. An insurance that terminated on the last day of the year is also eligible for a client bonus. When an insurance starts at Ilmarinen, client bonuses begin to accrue immediately, and the first client bonus is paid in the early part of the year following the start date of the insurance.

Average client bonus in 2026 and 2025

In 2026 and 2025, the client bonus will reduce the TyEL contribution by an average of 0.5 per cent. If your insurance has been with Ilmarinen for a long time, your bonus may be significantly larger.

The total amount of client bonuses is based on solvency

The total amount of client bonuses is based on Ilmarinen's solvency. Ilmarinen's strong solvency is a result of long-term investment activities and good investment returns. The following can be distributed as client bonuses:

  • for 2024: a maximum of 1% of the solvency capital
  • for 2025 and 2026: a maximum of 0.95% of the solvency capital
  • from 2027 onwards: a maximum of 0.9% of the solvency capital.

The total amount of client bonuses is determined in the same way for all pension companies. However, each pension company defines in its own actuarial principles how the total amount of client bonuses is distributed among its customers. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health confirms both the joint actuarial principles for all pension companies and each individual pension company's own actuarial principles.

If a pension company's solvency capital falls below its defined solvency limit, it is not permitted to distribute any client bonuses at all.

Client bonus when you transfer your company's TyEL insurance to Ilmarinen

If you transfer your insurance from another pension company to Ilmarinen, the previous pension company will pay the client bonus for the year of termination in the following year, and also a post-transfer bonus later on. Receiving the post-transfer bonus requires that at least EUR 50,000 has been accrued in the insurance fund from insurance contributions by the end of the year preceding the year of termination. You can receive a post-transfer bonus for a maximum of three years after your insurance has terminated, and it is smaller than the client bonus.

If an insurance is terminated mid-year, receiving the client bonuses accrued for the year of termination also requires that at least EUR 50,000 has been accrued in the insurance fund from insurance contributions.

When a policy is transferred from Ilmarinen to another pension company, Ilmarinen will, provided the corresponding conditions are met, pay the client bonus for the year of termination, as well as a post-transfer bonus.

  1. The total amount of client bonuses distributed by Ilmarinen is influenced by Ilmarinen's solvency. In Ilmarinen's bonus distribution model, your share of the total amount of client bonuses is determined by two payroll figures: your company's payroll from the previous year and the combined, so-called cumulative payroll from up to the 20 preceding years.

    The more you have paid salaries, the larger your client bonus. If your company is part of a group, the group's payroll also affects your bonus. Only employment relationships insured with Ilmarinen are included in the payroll figures.

    By distributing part of the client bonuses based on the cumulative payroll, we reward long-term customer relationships with higher client bonuses. As a result, client bonuses grow rapidly after the insurance starts, provided that Ilmarinen's solvency level remains at least stable.

    The client bonus you receive in 2026 is based on Ilmarinen's solvency in 2025. Ilmarinen's high solvency enables us to return larger client bonuses to our customers.

Administrative cost at Ilmarinen

As of the start of 2023, the contributions of contract employers are impacted by a company-specific administrative cost, which is used to cover the costs of Ilmarinen’s operations resulting from managing insurance and pensions. Thanks to Ilmarinen’s excellent efficiency, our administrative cost for contract employers is a maximum of around 0.18 % of the payroll in 2026 and 2025. Earlier, the share of administrative cost was included in the basic TyEL contribution percentage, which was the same size in all pension companies. The surplus resulting from efficiency was refunded annually as a discount for large payrolls and as part of client bonuses.

Ilmarinen’s administrative cost is calculated monthly, it is at the correct level when it is paid and reacts quickly to any changes in your business. It will not be adjusted based on annual data. 

Ilmarinen’s administrative cost is the same size regardless of how long you have been a customer. Your insurance’s administrative cost amount is impacted by two factors: the payroll and the number of employees. The monthly calculation takes into account the payroll for the relevant month and the number of employees. They both take into consideration whether you are part of a group. Consolidating your group’s insurances with Ilmarinen reduces your administrative cost. The monthly review can lead to small differences in the amount of administrative cost, if the insured payroll and number of employees vary.

By logging in to the online service, you can see your amount of administrative cost and an estimate of your full TyEL contribution.

Your company’s size affects your TyEL contribution

As a contract employer, your company’s size affects the amount of your TyEL contribution. If you are a temporary employer, your company size has no impact on the contribution because, as a temporary employer, you only pay the basic TyEL contribution.

Whether you are considered to be a small or large contract employer depends on the payroll, which is reviewed annually. In 2026, you are a small contract employer if your payroll in 2024 was less than EUR 2 455 500, and a large one if your payroll exceeded that sum.

As a small contract employer you always pay the TyEL basic contribution and administrative cost. Your contribution is reduced by the client bonus that you receive once a year, just like other contract employers.

If you are a large contract employer, the amount of your TyEL contribution is mostly affected by the work ability of your employees. Based on their work ability, you are classified into a specific contribution category. As a large employer you receive other discounts in addition to the client bonus.

Are you a large employer? Take a look at large employers' TyEL contribution

Number of instalments and payment dates

You pay your TyEL insurance contribution once a month. The contribution is based on the earnings payment reports that you submit to the Incomes Register after each payment of wages and salaries. One payment covers all of your previous month’s earnings payment reports.

You receive the client bonus once a year. It reduces the next month’s TyEL contribution.

As a rule, your TyEL contribution falls due on the last day of the month following the payment of the wages or salaries. This last day of the month following the payment of the wages or salaries is called the theoretical due date of the TyEL contribution.

If you need to move the due date, do so in our online service. You can move the due date backby a maximum of one month. You pay the normal insurance contribution interest for the period.

In our online service, you can change the TyEL contribution to fall due in the second month following the payment of the salaries or wages. In this case, insurance contribution interest is added to the insurance contribution from the theoretical due date until the payment date.

Take a closer look at the payment and invoicing of TyEL contributions
Read more about changing the due date

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