YEL insurance for self-employed person
As a self-employed person, your pension and other social security are based on your YEL insurance. Self-employed persons working in Finland must have YEL insurance.
What are the benefits of YEL insurance?
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YEL generates your pension
As a self-employed person, you take care of your own pension coverage. This way, you can retire just like an employee. You can retire on an old-age pension or a partial old-age pension.
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YEL gives you security in case of an accident or sickness
Your YEL income affects the level of benefits available from a voluntary accident insurance for self-employed persons. If you become ill, you can apply to Kela for a benefit.
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YEL gives you unemployment security
If your business ends or you no longer work in your company for another reason, you can receive unemployment benefits. If you are a member of the unemployment fund for entrepreneurs, Yrittäjäkassa, you can receive a benefit based on your YEL income. If you are not a member of Yrittäjäkassa, you can receive an unemployment benefit paid by Kela.
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YEL secures your family leaves
As a self-employed person, you can take time off work to stay at home with your children just like employees. Your parental allowance is based on your YEL income. You can apply to Kela for parental allowance.
When do you need YEL?
Get YEL insurance when these five conditions are true:
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Your age is between 18 and 67. The need to have YEL insurance ends based on your year of birth. More specifically, the need to have YEL insurance ends in the calendar month in which:
- An entrepreneur born in or before 1957 turns 68
- An entrepreneur born in 1958–1961 turns 69
- An entrepreneur born in or after 1962 turns 70.
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If your self-employed business lasts at least 4 months in a row, get YEL insurance. For shorter periods, you do not need YEL insurance.
A business that lasts less than 4 months must also be insured if the other four conditions are true. That means that even if your business stops for many months at a time, your business is still seen to continue from one year to the next. An entrepreneur who runs a kiosk every summer, for example, could be in this situation.
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The YEL income is the estimate of the value of your work input during one year.
A year means a rolling period of 12 months, not the calendar year. If you are a full-time entrepreneur, you almost always need to get YEL insurance. A low salary, for example, is not a reason for not getting YEL insurance.
You need YEL insurance also when you are a part-time entrepreneur, if the five conditions are true. It is possible to be an employee and a part-time entrepreneur at the same time. In that case, your employer gets you the employees’ pension insurance (TyEL) for your work as an employee, and you get self-employed person’s pension insurance (YEL) for your work as an entrepreneur.
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The fact that you own your company does not mean you have to get YEL insurance. You only need YEL insurance if you work in your company.
Impact of company form
The legal form of your company and your ownership share in the company have an effect on if you need to have YEL insurance or not. You need to get YEL insurance when you are one of these:
- a private self-employed person: trader alone, or a family member
- working for a trader without being paid a wage
- a partner in a general partnership company
- a responsible partner in a limited partnership company
- a partner in an executive position in a limited liability company, who holds alone more than 30 per cent or, together with family members, holds more than 50 per cent of the company’s shares or votes, or
- in an executive position in a co-operative or another organization and have a controlling interest of more than 30 per cent in the corporation alone or more than 50 per cent together with a family member.
- controlling interest can also be indirect through an intermediate company, in which case different controlling interest requirements apply.
Do I need YEL insurance if I’m a freelancer?
In YEL insurance, you are an entrepreneur if you work as a freelancer without a private or public sector employment contract. In that case, you must take care of your pension coverage just like other entrepreneurs. However, if your work as a freelancer has the characteristics of an employment relationship, that is, you have signed an employment contract, you are paid for your work and your employer supervises and manages your work, you are an employee. As a freelancer, you can also work as a self-employed person and employee at the same time. -
Usually, you must live and work in Finland. You might need YEL insurance also if you work in Finland and live in another EU country.
What does YEL insurance cost?
The YEL insurance payment is a percentage of your YEL income. You pay YEL payments for the period when the YEL insurance is in effect. YEL payment percentages in 2025 are:
- 24,10% for under 53-year-olds
- 25,60% for 53- to 62-year-olds
- 24,10% for minimum 63-year-olds
As a new entrepreneur you get a 22 % discount on YEL payments during the first 4 years, for a maximum of two entrepreneurial periods. You will get a discount automatically when you buy insurance online.
You can deduct the YEL payments in your personal or your spouse’s taxation or in your company’s taxation. When you deduct the YEL payments in taxation, there is actually less to pay.
How do you get YEL insurance?
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Check if you need YEL insurance
If the five conditions above are true, you need YEL insurance
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Buy insurance online
In Ilmarinen's webshop, you can easily apply for YEL insurance. We will guide you from start to finish.
Get YEL insurance3
Enjoy the security of YEL insurance
You are now covered with YEL insurance. When needed, you can check and change your YEL insurance matters in our online service. We are happy to help you on the phone or by email, too.
Why should I get YEL insurance from Ilmarinen?
1. Easy insurance – the extensive online service for self-employed persons is available 24/7 – it takes just a second to check, for example, your YEL income amount and how much pension you have generated.
2. Professional service – our competent professionals are happy to help you with any questions related to insurance and pensions.
3. Responsible pension cover – our business is responsible
4. A financially sound partner – your pension is secure with the sector’s most solvent pension insurance company.
5. Vocational rehabilitation secures your self-employment – if your state of health weakens and affects your work, we can help you continue as an entrepreneur.
Guide for new entrepreneurs
Starting a business? Wondering what YEL insurance is? You’re in the right place. Order the newly self-employed person's guide and learn everything about YEL-insurance.
Download free guide
Are you looking for more information?
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You cannot replace YEL insurance with voluntary pension insurance. Entrepreneurs working in Finland must have YEL insurance.
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YEL insurance is always personal, not company-specific. You can have several companies, but you only need one YEL insurance which covers all your businesses.
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If you get the insurance retroactively later, it should take effect from the date when the insured work began. You pay YEL payments for the period when the insurance is in effect. For example, if your entrepreneurship under YEL begins in January, you have six months to get insurance retroactively, taking effect from January.
It is possible to get YEL insurance retroactively for the current and the three preceding calendar years. For periods prior to that, you cannot generate pension. If you get YEL pension retroactively, you should remember that you will have to pay the previous YEL payments all at once. That is why we recommend that you get YEL insurance with immediate effect when the need to have YEL insurance begins.
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If you live outside Finland when you retire, you may need to claim your pension from Finland through the pension authority of the country in which you live. The pension authority will forward your claim to Finland. In Finland, your claim will be forwarded to your earnings-related pension provider and/or Kela, depending on which pension benefit you are claiming.
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You can terminate your YEL insurance if your self-employment ends completely or becomes so small that your YEL income is lower than the lower limit for YEL insurance. You can submit the termination notification in our self-employed person’s online service. Read more about the termination.
What does entrepreneur get with YEL insurance?
See how YEL insurance benefits you as an entrepreneur.