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In different life situations, you may have different needs for social security benefits, such as public health care, social services, child benefits, sickness allowance, medicine reimbursement or pension.
When you work remotely from Åland for an employer in another country, your right to social security benefits is primarily based on your work, and secondarily on where you are permanently resident.
Finland has a social security system that functions as a safety net and gives you, as someone who lives or works in the country, the right to social benefits and public services. For example, public health care, social services, education, employment pension, income security, family benefits, parental allowances, and more.
The basic rule is that you are entitled to social security in Finland if you are physically located in Finland and working, even if the work is done remotely from, for example, Åland. In that case, you earn occupational pension in Finland and are entitled to residence-based social security benefits from Kela as long as your income exceeds the income limit.
Your foreign employer also needs to ensure that your social security complies with Finnish legislation, including by:
For detailed information about social security benefits, visit Kela.fi
Visit Tyoelake.fi for detailed information about occupational pension in Finland
More information about statutory social insurance contributions in Finland can be found at the Finnish Centre for Pensions
However, there are certain exceptions to the basic rule, for example when you are employed by a foreign employer and only work temporarily in Åland. Or if you partly work remotely from Åland and also regularly work in another EU country. In that case, it is up to you and your employer to find out where you are entitled to social security.
Your social security depends, among other things, on:
At the Finnish Centre for Pensions, you can read more about working in multiple EU countries
Here is what you do if you work temporarily in Åland:
Here is what you do if you work remotely from Åland and physically in another EU country:
Here you can find more information about social security benefits for those who work remotely from Åland with an employer in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
If you and your employer in another EU/EEA country have agreed that you will temporarily work remotely from Åland, the employer can apply for an A1 certificate in the other EU/EEA country. The certificate shows which country's social security system you belong to.
It is your employer who applies for the A1 certificate on your behalf from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or the equivalent authority in the country you are moving from.
If you:
If you work in two or more EU/EEA countries or Switzerland, you should apply for an A1 certificate in the country where you are permanently resident. If Kela receives a benefit application where they can see that you work in two countries and lack an A1 certificate, they will urge you to apply for the certificate. Please note that it may then take time before you receive a response to your benefit application, as the right to an A1 certificate must first be determined.
Read more about the A1 certificate at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
Read more about the A1 certificate at the Finnish Centre for Pensions
Here you can read more about working in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland:
My spouse and our two minor children have moved from Sweden and settled in Åland. I have kept my job in Sweden and work 100 percent remotely for that job even after the move. My spouse is starting a job in Åland.
What possibilities for social security benefits from Finland/Åland do we have?You may be entitled to benefits from Kela if your income is higher than the income limit. The same applies if your spouse's income is higher than the income limit.
Your children are entitled to public healthcare based on their home municipality. If you have not registered a home municipality in Åland, you can apply for a certificate of entitlement to healthcare based on the father's (or mother's) work in Finland.
Ultimately, Kela decides whether your family is considered permanently resident in Finland. This is done in cooperation with the country you moved from. If you are considered permanently resident in Finland, you are entitled to benefits based on residency.
If you and your spouse work indefinitely in Finland, you are also entitled to other social security than that which Kela manages. For example, employment pension as well as insurance against workplace accidents and occupational diseases.
You, as a remote worker, also need to check whether your employer has applied for an A1 certificate (see above for more information about A1 certificates) as this may change the situation.
Would it make any difference if we had moved to Åland from, for example, Spain or another country within the EU/EEA instead?No, it does not matter where you move from.
I am moving alone from Sweden to Åland. I will keep my job in Sweden and work 100 percent remotely for that job after the move.
What are my options for social security benefits?The right to benefits from Kela is determined primarily on the basis of employment. Your status has no impact, meaning it does not matter whether you have moved with or without family.
Family and where the family is located can, on the other hand, be significant if it needs to be determined where you are permanently resident.
Your family status does not affect your social security in other respects either.
I am moving from Sweden and settling in Åland. I am keeping my job in Sweden but only performing parts of the work remotely. Sometimes I need to travel to the workplace in Sweden to work there.
What are my options for social security benefits?Since you work in several EU/EEA countries, the first priority is to determine which country's social security system should apply.
The country where you are to be covered by social insurance will issue the A1 certificate to you. If you:
See above on this page for more information about A1 certificates
Does it matter how the remote/on-site work is distributed in percentage terms?A basic rule is that the country where you reside and work at least 25 percent of your working time (and/or salary) is also the country whose legislation you are subject to.
More information about working in several EU countries can be found at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
I have my own company that is registered in Sweden. I am moving from Sweden and settling in Åland, where I continue working in my own company but now remotely.
What are the possibilities for social security benefits for me as a self-employed person?The main rule is that entrepreneurs who work in Finland are covered by Finnish social security legislation. As an entrepreneur, you must ensure your own pension protection and take out insurance according to the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL).
As an entrepreneur, you must have YEL/MYEL insurance in order to be entitled to Kela benefits from Finland.
Good to know: even an entrepreneur can work temporarily in another country and be entitled to an A1 certificate from the country of origin (see above for more information about A1 certificates). In that case, the entrepreneur applies for the A1 certificate themselves. Temporarily = max 24 months.If you work as an entrepreneur in both Finland and Sweden, you should remember to apply for an A1 certificate from the country where you are permanently resident in order to clarify your right to social security.
Read more about pension contributions for entrepreneurs at Tyoelake.fi
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