How to Claim your Pension from Abroad

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1 Kuva: istock INSTRUCTIONS CONTACT INFORMATION How to Claim your Pension from Abroad t e g r o f t Don your m to clai n from pensio ad! abro

2 Claim a pension from abroad: the Finnish Centre for Pensions at your service Claiming a pension earned in an EU/EEA country, or a country with which Finland has a bilateral social security agreement, is easy. In addition to the Finnish pension claim form, you have to complete Appendix U with information on your working and living abroad. The Finnish Centre for Pensions will transfer your claim to EU/EEA or social security agreement countries. If you live in another EU/EEA country than Finland, or in a social security agreement country, you must claim your Finnish pension through the pension authorities of the country in which you live. Pensions from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland If you are a migrant worker, the EU regulations make sure that you are entitled to social security benefits on the same conditions as the country s own citizens your are insured in only one country at a time your insurance contributions are paid to only one country at a time.. In addition to Finland, the following are EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. EEA countries are Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The EU has also concluded an agreement with Switzerland under which EU social security regulations are applied in that country. Pensions from social security agreement countries Finland has concluded bilateral social security agreements with Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Israel, Québec and the U.S.A. The agreements with China and South-Korea will come into force at a point in time that will be announced later. The purpose of a social security agreement is to ensure, among other things, that pensions are paid from one agreement country to another. However, the agreements differ from each other and may not apply to all pension types.

3 Pensions from non-agreement countries You have to find out yourself what your pension rights with non-eu/eea or non-agreement countries are. The Finnish Centre for Pensions can provide you with the contact information of the pension institutions of these countries. Claiming your pension Your claim for a pension from abroad is launched based on your Finnish pension claim form and Appendix U. You can receive claim forms from the Finnish Centre for Pensions, any earnings-related pension provider and the offices of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). You can also complete and print out the claim form on the following websites: and or the website of your own earningsrelated pension provider. You can submit the completed forms to any of the institutions listed above. You can also claim your old-age pension online via but in that case you have to complete and submit Appendix U on paper. When you claim pensions from social security agreement countries, the Finnish Centre for Pensions will send you a separate claim form to complete. You can also complete and print out the claim form at > Application forms > Applying for Pension. Submit your claim form for a pension from a social security agreement country directly to the Finnish Centre for Pensions. The retirement ages vary from country to country. A table of the retirement ages in different countries is posted on >The Pensions System > International Comparison > Retirement Ages. In some countries, the pension can be drawn early, before reaching the general retirement age. Alternatively, the pension can be deferred past the retirement age. As a rule, drawing a pension early or deferring it to a later age will affect your pension amount permanently. For more detailed information, contact the pension authorities in the country in question. When claiming a pension from an EU/EEA or a social security agreement country, enter the countries from which you are claiming a pension on the form. When you claim an old-age pension, enter also the date on which you wish your foreign pension to start. Complete Appendix U carefully The data you enter on Appendix U will form the basis for handling your claim for a pension and for establishing your right to a pension abroad. It is therefore important that you complete Appendix U carefully. You have to include all information on work done abroad and periods of residence abroad as that data cannot be retrieved from any other source.

4 Data to be included on Appendix U: all periods you have worked and lived abroad names of your employees abroad and locations of work abroad your work tasks or professions abroad addresses to where you have lived abroad foreign insurance number that corresponds to the Finnish ID number (can also be a taxation or equivalent number) name of foreign insurance companies or pension systems You are also advised to include copies of documents relating to your work/living abroad, for example employment certificates, work books, pay slips, insurance cards and student certificates. Handling the claim When you claim a pension from Finland and from abroad using one and the same form, your claim will come into force at the same time at Kela, the earnings-related pension provider and the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Your earnings-related pension provider will handle the claim as far as your earnings-related pension is concerned. As a rule, Kela will issue a decision on your national and the guarantee pensions once it is clear how much earnings-related pension and other benefits you will receive from Finland and abroad. The Finnish Centre for Pensions will forward your claim to the foreign pension authority for handling. The foreign pension authority may request more detailed information from you for the handling of the claim. It is very important that you reply to these requests. If you fail to reply, the handling of your claim for a pension may be delayed or your claim may be rejected altogether. The handling of your claim for a pension abroad may take from six months to several years. You should claim your old-age pension from abroad approximately six months before you wish your pension to begin. For more detailed information on the handling times, contact the pension authorities of the country in question. Once your claim has been handled, the foreign pension authority will send its pension decision directly to you. Each country issues its own pension decision Each country, based on its own national pension legislation, will either grant you a pension or reject your claim. The retirement ages vary from country to country and, for example

5 a granted disability pension from one country does not mean that you will be granted a disability pension from all other countries on the same grounds. Your pension amount will be calculated in each country separately based on the period of time you have been insured for work or have lived in said country. The foreign pension authority will issue the pension decision in its own national language and pay your pension directly to your bank account. If you are discontent with the pension decision issued by a foreign pension authority in an EU/EEA or a social security agreement country, you can appeal it immediately either in Finnish, Swedish or some other official EU language or the official language(s) of the social security agreement country. Your written appeal must be submitted within the time frame stated in your pension decision. Primarily, you should submit your appeal abroad according to the appeal instructions that came with the pension decision. However, you can also submit your appeal to the Finnish Centre for Pensions, your earnings-related pension provider or Kela. They will forward your appeal abroad. Impact of foreign pensions on Finnish benefits A statutory earnings-related pension (disability or old-age pension) granted abroad will impact your earnings-related pension accrual in Finland if you continue working or engage in self-employment while drawing the foreign pension. Until , you will accrue an earnings-related pension for employment and self-employment at a rate of 1.5 per cent annually if you are aged between 18 and 52 years, 1.9 per cent if you are aged between 53 and 62 years, and 4.5 per cent if you are aged between 63 and 68 years. If you continue working or engage in self-employment in Finland while drawing a statutory, employment-based pension from another country, you will accrue pension in Finland at a rate of 1.5 per cent, regardless of your age. The earnings-related pension legislation will be reformed in Finland as of Under the new acts, pensions received from abroad will no longer affect pension accrual in Finland. For more information on the new pension acts and the new pension accrual rates, please visit > Briefly in English. Pensions paid from abroad may also affect social benefits granted from and paid in Finland. A foreign pension may affect the payment of the sickness benefit, unemployment benefits and the income support. It may also lead to a recovery of benefits that have

6 already been paid. In addition, receiving a foreign statutory earnings-related pension prevents the granting and payment of a part-time pension. The obligation to take out insurance for your self-employment ceases if you are granted a statutory old-age pension in Finland or from abroad. After that you can take out voluntary pension insurance for the self-employed/farmers. For more information on how a foreign pension will affect the accrual of your earningsrelated pension, your obligation to take out insurance for self-employment, or your parttime pension, contact your earnings related pension provider. For the impact of a pension from abroad on the earnings-related unemployment allowance, contact your unemployment fund, and on its impact on benefits paid by Kela, contact Kela. Find out how a foreign pension will affect your social benefits in payment in Finland and the accrual of your earnings-related pension before claiming a pension from abroad. Taxation of foreign pensions You must always notify the tax authorities of any pension you receive from abroad. For more information on the taxation of your foreign pension, please contact the payer of the pension or the tax authorities of the country in question. Call the Tax Authorities tax service number for international tax situations at or visit fi for more information on the impact of a foreign pension on your taxation in Finland. Pension estimations from abroad If you wish to receive a preliminary calculation of your foreign pension, contact the pension authority of the EU/EEA or service agreement country in question. The data required for such a request vary from one country to another. Some pension providers will send you a printed preliminary pension calculation to your home address while others will send you an individual code or username and password so that you can retrieve your own pension information via their website. The contact information of foreign pension authorities is available online at > Pension Application > Pension from Abroad > Foreign Pensions. The Finnish Centre for Pensions can also provide you with the contact information of foreign pension authorities.

7 Claim supplementary pensions on your own In many countries, statutory pensions are supplemented with occupational supplementary pensions and pensions based on a contract. The Finnish Centre for Pensions does not forward claims abroad for such pensions since they are not covered by the EU Regulation on social security. Therefore, you have to find out whether you are entitled to such pensions and claim them on your own by contacting the relevant pension provider abroad. Notify about changes in your circumstances As a pension recipient, you yourself have to notify the payer of a foreign pension as soon as possible if your circumstances change (e.g. if you move to another country, if your address or marital status change or if you begin in a new employment). The EU/EEA countries and the social security agreement countries check the current status of pension recipients by requesting a so-called certificate of life once a year. You must complete and return the form according to instructions provided on or attached to the form. Often, the certificate needs to be confirmed and stamped by an authority in the country in which you live (in Finland: the Finnish Centre for Pensions, Kela or the magistrate). If you do not return the certificate on time, the foreign pension authority may interrupt the payment of your pension. If your pension payment is interrupted and you want the payments to continue again, contact the pension provider concerned. Further information For more information and instructions on how to claim a pension from abroad, as well as the contact information of foreign pension providers, call the Finnish Centre for Pensions, Department for International Pension Matters, at Information on the above subjects, as well as general information on foreign pensions, is also available online at > Pension application > Pension from abroad. For information on the pension systems in various countries, go to > The pension system > International comparison. You can also ask questions relating to pensions at > Ask more.

8 Service centre for the Finnish statutory earnings-related pension scheme Finnish Centre for Pensions Customer service and visiting address: Kirjurinkatu 3, Itä-Pasila, Helsinki Postal address: FI ELÄKETURVAKESKUS, Finland Kuva: istock