Two questions come up first for anyone retiring abroad: how will I be treated by the health system, and what happens to my pension? Retiring in Finland has clear answers to both, as long as you declare your pensions precisely and bring the right forms.
This guide covers the three questions that matter: healthcare, tax and the Finnish pension system.
What do you need when retiring in Finland?
As a pensioner from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you need no residence permit but you do need to register your right of residence if you stay more than three months. EU law limits what the authorities may ask of you to a valid identity document, proof of comprehensive health insurance and proof of sufficient resources to live without social assistance. Migri sets no fixed amount for resources and looks at each case. Your S1 serves as proof of health cover. See residence in Finland for EU citizens.
After Migri, you register with the DVV, get a personal identity code and, if you stay at least a year, a municipality of residence. See moving to Finland.
How does the S1 work for retiring in Finland?
If your pension comes only from another EU, EEA or Swiss country, you ask the body that pays it for an S1 form before you leave, and give it to Kela when you apply. It is Kela that decides whether you live in Finland permanently. The S1 opens public healthcare in Finland at the cost of your pension country.
Exceptions: Kela says pensioners moving from another Nordic country do not need an S1, and neither do pensioners moving from the UK. Pensioners from Switzerland need an S1 from Switzerland. For a short stay, keep your physical European Health Insurance Card. See Kela in Finland and healthcare in Finland for expats.
Which forms will your pension fund ask for, and how do you prove your tax residence to stop deductions at home? Moovy can map the steps for your case and draft a letter to your pension body in the right language. For tax questions touching two countries, a qualified adviser should confirm the result.
How is a foreign pension taxed when retiring in Finland?
If you are resident, Finland taxes your worldwide income, and the tax treaty with your former country decides who may tax each income. In 2026, pensions are earned income in Finland: taxed at the state progressive rates, municipal tax and, if you belong to the Lutheran or Orthodox Church, church tax.
Thanks to the basic deduction and the pension income allowance (eläketulovähennys), a pension below €13,905 a year (about €1,159 a month) pays no municipal tax in 2026. The right to the pension income allowance stops at €49,315 a year. Other charges in 2026: a health insurance contribution of 1.49 per cent on pensions, the Yle tax of 2.5 per cent above €15,150 (maximum €160), and an additional state tax of 5.85 per cent on the part of pensions above €60,000 a year.
Vero says Finland's treaties mostly remove double taxation by tax credit, except a few, including the one with France, which uses exemption. The pension article in each treaty is what counts. For French pensioners, the 1970 convention still applies to 2026 income: it generally reserves private pensions to Finland and leaves pensions paid by the French public sector to France, which Finland may take into account for rate purposes. A new convention, signed in 2023, entered into force on 28 August 2026 according to Finland’s official treaty series and applies from 1 January 2027. Under it, some French pensions, such as those paid under French social security, can also be taxed in France, with Finland giving a tax credit. Whether a given pension counts as public or private is a technical question: ask a tax adviser.
Practical steps: ask your pension body which proof of Finnish tax residence it needs to stop withholding in your old country, get a tax card suited to your pensions, and declare your foreign pensions every year, since the pre-completed return does not know them.
What Finnish pension could you receive?
Finland has two layers.
- The earnings-related pension (työeläke), based on your work and self-employment in Finland. It accumulates only if you worked there. The minimum age is 65 for people born from 1962 to 1964, then follows life expectancy for those born in 1965 or later.
- The national pension (kansaneläke) and guarantee pension (takuueläke), paid by Kela for low pensions.
In 2026 the national pension is up to €787.07 a month for a single person, €702.69 in a couple, reduced by 50 cents for each euro of earnings-related pension. It needs at least three years of residence in Finland after the age of 16, and is reduced if you lived there less than 80 per cent of the time between 16 and retirement. Periods lived or worked elsewhere in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK can count if you have lived at least a year in Finland.
The guarantee pension tops you up to a maximum of €990.90 a month, counting almost all pensions, including foreign ones, and is not paid if the top-up would be under €8.01 a month. Kela requires you to have claimed every pension you are entitled to first. It is not paid if you live abroad permanently.
What if you worked in several countries?
Each country pays its own pension on the periods you worked there, and the periods are added together to open the right. If you live in Finland, a single application to a Finnish pension body can be passed on to the other EU, EEA, Swiss and UK countries where you worked. Supplementary and occupational pensions, such as French complementary schemes, need their own claims. For countries linked to Finland by a social security agreement, such as the United States or Canada, you also fill in that country’s own form.
What should the order of steps be?
- Before leaving, ask your pension body for the S1 and a statement of your gross pensions, and tell your tax office and pension fund about your move.
- On arrival, register your right of residence with Migri if you stay more than three months, then register with the DVV for a personal identity code and a municipality of residence.
- Open a bank account, with online codes, so Kela can pay and so you can use OmaVero and OmaKela. See opening a bank account in Finland.
- Give the S1 to Kela with your application.
- Apply for a tax card suited to your pensions and declare foreign pensions each spring.
- Ask a tax adviser if you have both public and private pensions or income in two countries.
Can you work or run a business while retired in Finland?
Yes. As an EU citizen you can work, with a tax card, or start a business, with the registrations described in Finland's start-up guidance; a self-employed person normally takes out YEL pension insurance within six months if the activity lasts at least four months and the income reaches €9,423.09 a year (2026). The obligation depends on your age and on whether you already draw an old-age pension, so check with a Finnish pension provider. Earnings may affect the guarantee pension and other means-tested benefits, so report them to Kela.
What differs on Åland?
The same pension system applies, and Kela (FPA) handles your S1 from the islands, notified with form Y77r. Municipal tax rates are the islands' own. Ask for information in Swedish. See moving to Åland.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
Arriving without an S1 when you need one. Assuming a foreign pension is outside the Finnish tax net. Counting on the Finnish national pension before the three-year residence condition. Forgetting that the guarantee pension does not travel abroad. And handling a mixed public and private pension without professional advice.
Retirement here rewards preparation: a clear S1, a tax card that matches your income and a pension body that knows your address. Before you decide, ask your pension body, or an adviser who knows Finnish tax, to confirm how your own pensions will be treated.