Translation - art & business » Business issues »
Insurance/pensions system in Finland
Thread poster: Svanhild Aldal
Svanhild Aldal
Svanhild Aldal  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 21:03
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Apr 3, 2008

Hi,

I am a Norwegian translator who have just moved to Finland and started my freelance business here. I have just received a claim from an insurance company, stating that I have to pay 20% of my earning into a pensions fund. (In Finnish: Yrittäjän eläkevakuutus). So now I am wondering: In addition to tax, do I have to pay 20% of my earnings into this fund? That would mean that around 50% of my earnings are taken away... Any Finnish translators out there who knows about this?
... See more
Hi,

I am a Norwegian translator who have just moved to Finland and started my freelance business here. I have just received a claim from an insurance company, stating that I have to pay 20% of my earning into a pensions fund. (In Finnish: Yrittäjän eläkevakuutus). So now I am wondering: In addition to tax, do I have to pay 20% of my earnings into this fund? That would mean that around 50% of my earnings are taken away... Any Finnish translators out there who knows about this?

Thanks,
Svanhild ▲ Collapse
 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 21:03
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Yes and no Apr 3, 2008

As a business person registered with the tax office you must join the YEL. But you can declare your yearly income freely, as long as you work alone. If you employ someone your salary cannot be lower than what you pay to your employee.
The minimun yearly income is about 4500 e, but below 8500 e you have no health insurence.
I declared about 13000 e income and pay 270 e monthly, but my real income is of course higher. Because I have already worked earlier for 25 years in an enterprise ... See more
As a business person registered with the tax office you must join the YEL. But you can declare your yearly income freely, as long as you work alone. If you employ someone your salary cannot be lower than what you pay to your employee.
The minimun yearly income is about 4500 e, but below 8500 e you have no health insurence.
I declared about 13000 e income and pay 270 e monthly, but my real income is of course higher. Because I have already worked earlier for 25 years in an enterprise my pension will come from there, but if you're young you should take into account that the more you pay insurence the more pension you will get.
In average private Finnish entrepreneurs have a pension of only 750 e monthly, the population as a whole about 1300 e. That shows that private entrepreneurs pay too little insurence (or really earn very little on average).

Regards
Heinrich ▲ Collapse
 
Svanhild Aldal
Svanhild Aldal  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 21:03
English to Norwegian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks... Apr 3, 2008

Ah, thank you for that! That cleared things up a little. I was starting to imagine that most of my earnings would fly out of the window... I am not yet sure if I will actually retire here, and that is many years ahead, but yes, you probably do have a point, the earlier you start saving the better.

I will have a chat with the insurance people about it.

Thanks a lot once again!

Best wishes,
Svanhild
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Margarita[Call to this topic]
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Insurance/pensions system in Finland







Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »