General information about MYEL pension insurance

Have you been awarded a grant for artistic or scientific work?

If you have been awarded a grant in Finland, your pension insurance is provided by Mela. You have a legal obligation to apply for pension insurance if you meet the following conditions:

• Your grant has been awarded for work lasting at least four months
  • Grant work lasting less than four months can also qualify for pension insurance in certain conditions by adding it to an existing pension policy. Further information: Adding a new grant to an existing insurance policy.
• The amount of your grant when converted into annual income is 4,712 euros or more (2026). Further information: Annual earnings.
• You are not employed by the same body that awarded the grant
• You are between the ages of 18 and 68 but not yet on an old-age pension (for those born between 1958 and 1961, the insurance obligation ends at age 69, for those born in 1962 or later, the insurance obligation ends at age 70)
• You live and work in Finland or you belong to Finnish residance-based social security while working abroad.

If you are eligible for the Finnish social security system, you also have a legal obligation to take out pension insurance if you perform your grant work outside of Finland, or if you come to Finland to work on a grant. Further information: Working abroad on a grant.

You do not have to take out pension insurance in the following instances:

• You have been awarded a grant for basic degree studies
• Your grant was awarded to cover expenses alone (such as travel grants).