Finnish Pension Transfers Climb to $1.28 Billion in Q3

The value of Finnish earnings-related pension transfers under the Employees Pensions Act (TyEL) climbed to more than $1.28 billion in the third quarter of 2025, marking a strong rebound from $732.53 million in the previous quarter, the latest transfer statistics from the Finnish Pension Alliance (TELA). showed.

Between July and September, 2,841 TyEL policies were transferred between pension insurance companies, alongside 3,413 transfers under the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL), TELA said.

The value of these transfers totalled $104.75 million, an increase from $99.15 million in the previous quarter, though still below the $108.48 million recorded in the first quarter of 2025. Combined, more than 6,200 policies changed providers in the period, up slightly from 6,054 in Q2 2025.

The Q3 data also marked a reversal of the decline earlier this year, when TyEL transfer values fell from $1.05 billion in the first quarter. As a share of total payroll, TyEL transfers accounted for 1.5%, up from 0.9% a year earlier, while YEL transfers accounted for 1.6%, up from 1.4% in Q3 2024.

Meanwhile, transfers made up 2% of the TyEL insurance portfolio and 1.6% of the YEL portfolio, indicating steady growth in market mobility. Policyholders can transfer their TyEL or YEL insurance once they have been insured with the same company for at least one year, with transfer dates falling on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.

The latest figures come amid a wider policy debate over the future of YEL reform, as Tela continues to call for changes to strengthen the self-employed pension system.

The organisation has urged the government to lower the earnings threshold for YEL contributions, currently set at $10,731.39 per year, so that hidden income from small-scale or part-time work is also covered.

‘Modernise YEL’

TELA Chief Executive Suvi-Anne Siimes, opposed creating a separate system for the so-called light entrepreneurs, and suggested that YEL should be modernised to base contributions on actual income data drawn from registers and to move towards a partially funded model similar to TyEL.

“Creating a new category would complicate the Finnish labour market and undermine the clarity of the pension system. At worst, it would also stifle the growth ambitions of the smallest entrepreneurs,” she said.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has appointed Jukka Rantala to lead a review of the YEL system, with recommendations expected in November 2025.