The TyEL contribution and contribution category for large employers

As a large employer, the amount of your earnings-related pension contribution is affected by the size of your company, the work ability of your employees and the discounts you receive. Cases of disability affect your company’s TyEL contribution through the contribution category. Colloquially, contribution category may also be referred to as pension contribution category or TyEL contribution category.

Looking for information on these?

1. When is my company a large employer?
2. Large employer’s TyEL contribution
3. Contribution category
4. Costs of disability for the employer
5. When does disability not affect the TyEL contribution and the contribution category?
6. Situations of change

When is my company a large employer?

The wages paid by your company two years ago determine whether you are a large employer or a small employer; if your company’s payroll exceeded EUR 2,337,000 in 2023, you will be a large employer in 2025, whereas if the payroll was below this limit, you are a small employer.

The payroll limit used to determine large employer status changes annually, and you can check the payroll limits on our website. Additionally, if your company’s payroll varies on both sides of the limit, your company may be a small employer and a large employer in successive years.

What does my large employer’s TyEL contribution consist of?

As a large employer, your TyEL contributions is affected by

Basic TyEL contribution
Contribution category
Administrative cost
Your client bonus
Contribution loss discount

The amount of the TyEL contribution is determined on the basis of the actuarial principles approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. More information on the structure of the TyEL contribution

As a large employer, can I influence the amount of my company’s TyEL contributions?

When you take care of your employees’ work ability, you reduce their risk of becoming disabled. At the same time, you can save on your TyEL contribution.

To help you manage work ability risks, we provide work ability services, which include a learning environment, surveys, situational picture and the My Expert service. You will obtain information and practical tools for managing work ability risks and managing your employees’ work ability.

  1.  

    As part of your basic TyEL contribution, you pay a contribution loss component, which is used to cover credit losses that arise when some customers do not pay their TyEL contributions.

    Large employers incur less contribution loss than small employers, so as a large employer, you receive a discount on the contribution loss component. This discount is determined based on your company’s payroll and reduces your company’s TyEL contribution.

    We will automatically take this discount into account in your company’s TyEL contribution, and all pension companies calculate the contribution loss component and discount in the same way.

    The table below shows how much your contribution loss discount will be in 2025, expressed as a percentage of your company’s payroll.

    Payroll 2023 (€) Contribution loss discount as a percentage
    of payrol
    2 337 000 - 37 392 000 0,153
    Over 37 392 000 0,178

What is the contribution category?

As a large employer, a contribution category is determined for your company annually. Colloquially, the contribution category may also be referred to as the pension contribution category or TyEL contribution category. The contribution category is taken into account in the calculation of the disability pension part of your company’s TyEL contribution.

The contribution category is determined in advance for each year on the basis of the insurance information of each pension company. If your company has insurance policies in several pension companies, each pension company determines the contribution category for your company. In such a situation, your company may have several different contribution categories at the same time.

As our customer, you can see your company’s TyEL contribution percentage and contribution category by logging in to our online service. You can also view an estimate of your future TyEL contributions and generate estimates of future contribution categories.

How does my company’s contribution category affect my TyEL contribution?

The contribution category affects the amount of the disability pension component of your company’s TyEL contribution. There are 11 contribution categories in total:

  • In contribution categories 1–3, your disability pension component is lower than average.
  • In contribution category 4, your disability pension component is average.
  • In contribution categories 5–11, your disability pension component is higher than average.

The extent to which your company’s contribution category affects the amount of the TyEL contribution depends on the size of your company. The larger your company is, the more your contribution category will affect your TyEL contribution.

More information on how the size of the company affects the weight of the contribution category.

How do you determine my company’s contribution category?

We determine your contribution category based on your company’s disability risk. The higher your company’s disability risk, the higher your company’s contribution category. Your company’s disability risk is increased by disability pensions and rehabilitation benefits granted to your employees.

  1. The payroll of your company two years ago affects the weight of your contribution category in determining the disability pension component of your TyEL contribution. The size of your disability pension component is partially determined on the basis of your contribution category and partially based on basic contribution category 4.

    Before 2025, for the largest employers, the entire disability pension component is determined on the basis of the company’s contribution category. With the reform of the contribution category model, the weight of the contribution category will be gradually reduced from 2025 to 2028, which means that the impact of the contribution category on the TyEL contribution will be reduced.

    The weight of the contribution category for 2024 will be 100% if your payroll in 2022 was at least EUR 36,024,000.

      - 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 -
    Maximum
    weight of
    contribution category
    100 % 90 % 80 % 70 % 60 %

What are the costs of disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits for the employer?

Disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits granted to your employees increase your company’s disability risk. They generate pension expenditure that affects your company’s contribution category and, consequently, the TyEL contribution. You contribute to your employees’ disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits as part of your company’s TyEL contribution.

You can check the disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits affecting your company’s contribution category and their pension expenditure in our online service.

  1.  

    Your company’s contribution category is affected by:

    If a person is granted several disability pensions or cash rehabilitation benefits related to the same time of illness, only one of these can affect your company’s contribution category.

    Cash rehabilitation benefits first affect the 2028 contribution category. An employee is considered to be in vocational rehabilitation at the turn of the year if the employment pension insurance company has granted him or her a rehabilitation allowance or a rehabilitation increase before the turn of the year.

    You can check the disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits affecting your company’s contribution category and their pension expenditure in our online service.

  2. We take into account the disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits granted to your employees in your company’s contribution category through pension expenditure. Pension expenditure refers to the amount using which we prepare to pay your employee a disability pension until they reach the lowest retirement age or are rehabilitated.

    The amount of pension expenditure is affected by:

    • The age of your employee
    • The amount of your employee’s pension
    • The time between your employee’s illness and the year for which the pension expenditure was calculated.

    The pension expenditure of the disability pension is calculated for the year in which it was granted. The pension expenditure of the cash rehabilitation benefit is calculated for the year at the end of which at least two years have elapsed since the start of the first cash rehabilitation benefit and the cash rehabilitation benefit is valid without vocational rehabilitation. Your employee may have fallen ill years before this.

    We add up the pension expenditure for each year and take it into account when determining the contribution categories of your company in the coming years. The table below shows how pension expenditure calculated for different years affects contribution categories.

    In other words, pension expenditure caused by pensions is not taken into account in the contribution category of the year for which pension expenditure is calculated. For example, if a person is granted a disability pension in 2024, its pension expenditure for 2024 is calculated. However, we only take the pension expenditure into account in the contribution categories for 2026 and 2027.

    Contribution category year Pension expenditure calculation year
    2028 2025 and 2026
    2027 2024 and 2025
    2026 2023 and 2024
    2025 2022 and 2023
    2024 2021 and 2022
  3.  

    Below, you can find examples of the size of the pension expenditure of disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits for people of different ages.You can estimate that the amount of a full disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit is, for example, half of your employee’s monthly salary before illness. Age refers to the age of the employee in the year for which pension expenditure is calculated.

    In the first table, one year has passed from illness to the year for which pension expenditure was calculated, and in the second table, four years have passed.The likelihood of returning to work ability decreases when disability is prolonged. As a result, the pension expenditure in the latter table is higher than in the first.

      Pension expenditure by age and monthly pension (€)
    Age 1 000 € 2 000 € 3 000 € 4 000 € 5 000 €
    25 98 300 196 600 294 800 393 100 491 400
    30 115 800 231 700 347 500 463 400 579 200
    35 129 900 259 800 389 700 519 600 649 500
    40 136 800 273 600 410 400 547 200 684 000
    45 133 800 267 500 401 300 535 000 668 800
    50 118 800 237 600 356 400 475 200 593 900
    55 90 800 181 700 272 500 363 400 454 200
    60 47 000 94 000 141 000 188 000 235 000

    Table: The amount of pension expenditure when, for example, the pension expenditure is calculated for 2025 and the employee has fallen ill a year earlier.

      Pension expenditure by age and monthly pension (€)
    Age 1 000 € 2 000 € 3 000 € 4 000 € 5 000 €
    25 223 900 447 700 671 600 895 400 1 119 300
    30 223 100 446 100 669 200 892 300 1 115 300
    35 214 500 429 100 643 600 858 100 1 072 700
    40 198 200 396 400 594 600 792 800 991 000
    45 174 400 348 700 523 100 697 400 871 800
    50 142 700 285 500 428 200 570 900 713 600
    55 102 600 205 300 307 900 410 500 513 100
    60 50 400 100 800 151 200 201 600 252 100

    Table: The amount of pension expenditure when, for example, the pension expenditure is calculated
    for 2025 and the employee has fallen ill four years earlier.

    Please note that the examples are only indicative and based on actuarial principles valid in 2024. We only calculate the exact pension expenditure when the person has been granted a disability pension or when the rehabilitation benefit is found to affect the contribution category.

    In the example, pension expenditure is based on full disability pension or full rehabilitation benefit. The pension expenditure for partial disability pension and partial rehabilitation benefit is half of the pension expenditure for full disability pension or rehabilitation benefit.

    You can check the disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits affecting your company’s contribution category and their pension expenditure in our online service.

  4. In addition to your company, other former employers may also be responsible for the pension expenditure caused by your employee’s disability.

    Who is responsible for pension expenditure depends on when your employee lost their work ability:

    • If your employee has only worked in your company in the two years preceding their illness and has not received social benefits, pension expenditure will be fully taken into account in your company’s contribution category.

    • If your employee has not worked in your company in the two years preceding their illness, pension expenditure will not be taken into account in your company’s contribution category.

    • If your employee has worked not only for your company but also elsewhere in the two years preceding their illness or received social benefits during that period, your company’s pension expenditure is reduced. The pension expenditure is distributed between the companies in which the employee has worked in the two years preceding their illness in proportion to the wages paid.

Which disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits do not affect the contribution category?

Not all disability pensions and cash rehabilitation benefits granted to your employees affect the contribution category. In certain cases, we need more information from you as an employer about your employee’s situation so that we can disregard their pension in your company’s contribution category. In some cases, we automatically disregard it.

  1.  

    The disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if the employee has already been granted a disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit based on the same time of illness that has affected the contribution category.

  2. The disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if your employee has been hired as a new employee in your company at over 55 years of age and the employment relationship has started in 2024 or later.

    A new employee is a person who has not worked in your company or in another company belonging to the same group in the year in which the employment relationship began or in the previous three years. In addition, they have not transferred to your company as a result of a corporate reorganisation in the year in which the employment relationship began or in the three years preceding it.

  3.  

    The disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if more than five years have passed since the employee became ill in the year for which the pension expenditure is calculated.

    This applies in cases where the year for which pension expenditure is calculated is 2026 or later, meaning the rule first affects the 2028 contribution category.

  4.  

    The cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect the contribution category if the employee’s rehabilitation is active during the year for which pension expenditure is calculated.

    This means that if the employee is paid a rehabilitation allowance or an increase in rehabilitation granted by the employment pension insurance company on the last day of the year in question or later, it does not impact the contribution category.

    The examination of the activeness of the rehabilitation benefit is year-specific, meaning the same cash rehabilitation benefit may affect the contribution category in a later year if rehabilitation is no longer active.

  5.  

    The disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if the employee’s employment relationship has been short.

    • If the employee has fallen ill in 2024 or later, a short employment relationship means that the employee has been paid less than EUR 10,000 in wages at 2022 level in the two years preceding the illness.

    • If the employee has fallen ill in 2007–2023, a short employment relationship means that the employee has been paid less than EUR 3,143.77 in wages at 2022 level in the two years preceding the illness.

    The limits of a short employment relationship are reviewed annually.

  6.  

    The disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if your employee has been hired as a new employee in your company and the employment relationship has started as a vocational rehabilitation work trial or apprenticeship training in 2024 or later.

    In addition, the maximum period from the beginning of the employment relationship to the beginning of the illness is five years.

    A new employee is a person who has not worked in your company or in another company belonging to the same group in the year in which the employment relationship began or in the previous three years. In addition, they have not transferred to your company as a result of a corporate reorganisation in the year in which the employment relationship began or in the three years preceding it.

  7.  

    The disability pension or rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if:

    • Your employee has been granted a worker’s compensation pension on the basis of a voluntary leisure time accident insurance policy you have taken out as an employer.
    • The pension in question continues on 1 November of the year following the year for which the pension expenditure was calculated.
    • The employee has fallen ill in 2017 or later.

     
  8. The disability pension or rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if:

    • Your employee has been recorded in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy’s customer information system at the beginning of the employment due to a reduced work ability.
    • No more than five years have passed from the date of issue of the certificate of the record to the employee’s illness.
    • The employee has fallen ill in 2017 or later.

  9. The disability pension or rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category in case of patient injury or rail transport injury where employee has fallen ill in 2017 or later.

  10. The disability pension or rehabilitation benefit granted to your employee does not affect your company’s contribution category if the information that the payment of the pension is to start does not exist before 15 November of the year following the year for which the pension expenditure was calculated.

How do situations of change affect my company’s TyEL contribution and contribution category?

 

If you transfer your company’s TyEL insurance to us in full or in part, the contribution category of your former pension company and the information affecting it will be transferred with your insurance. We will determine your contribution category taking into account the details of all your company’s insurance policies from us. More about transfering your company's TyEL insurance to us.

  • If your new insurance policy from us begins on the first day of the year, your new contribution category will take effect immediately from that date.

  • If your new insurance policy begins at another time, your new contribution category will take effect at the beginning of the following year. The contribution category determined by your previous pension company is valid until the end of the current year.

Situations of change in business operations may also affect your company’s contribution category. More about situations of change in business operations.