Payment of pension abroad
The earnings-related pension accrued in Finland – both your own pension and survivors’ pension – can be paid abroad. The pension is paid regardless of the recipient’s country of residence or nationality, either to a Finnish or a foreign bank account.
The pension is transferred abroad via a Finnish bank, primarily in the currency of the receiving country or, if you prefer, in euros. A withholding tax is applied to pensions paid abroad. The amount of withholding tax depends, among other things, on nationality and tax treaties.
You can manage all your pension matters in our online service even when living abroad. Please note that you need online banking credentials from a Finnish bank.
On this page
Report your foreign bank account online or in writing
To pay your pension abroad, we need the following details:
- Your account number in international IBAN format
- Your foreign bank’s BIC or SWIFT code
If you do not have an IBAN, we need:
- Foreign account number
- SWIFT code
- Routing/clearing number and
- Bank name and address
Provide the details in our online service.
You can also submit the payment details in writing. Sign the notification personally and send it by post to Elo.
Provide your address once a year
If you live permanently abroad, you must notify us of your address once a year. We send a residence notification annually in December–January to those living abroad. Return the signed notification even if your address has not changed.
The easiest way to return the notification is as an attachment in our online service under the Documents tab. If we do not receive your notification by the deadline, pension payments will be suspended until we receive it.
Taxation of pensioners living abroad
The taxation of earnings-related pensions depends on whether the move is permanent or temporary. Nationality and any tax treaties with the destination country also affect taxation.
When a Finnish citizen moves abroad, the pension can be taxed as advance tax during the year of the move and the following three years. During this time, you are taxed as if you lived in Finland. After that, you are considered to live abroad for tax purposes, meaning you are a limited taxpayer. At that point, Elo will request a tax card for limited taxpayers from the Finnish Tax Administration for your pension.
Elo retrieves the withholding tax information for your pension when it starts.
Under Finnish law, Finnish pensions are taxed in Finland even if the recipient lives abroad. Pensions paid abroad are taxed in the same way as pensions paid in Finland. The tax rate depends on the amount of income. Finland has tax treaties with more than 60 countries. Usually, these treaties state that pensions paid from Finland are taxed in Finland.
For more details on pension taxation abroad, contact the Tax Administration at +358 29 497 024 or visit www.vero.fi.
Moving abroad
If you move abroad, please report the following information in our online service so that your pension payments can continue without interruption:
- Your foreign address
- Any changes to your payment details
If you have made a permanent move notification to Finnish authorities, also inform us of your moving date, as it may affect the taxation of your pension.
Moving while living abroad
If you move to a new address while living abroad, you must notify us of the address change. You can easily do this in our online service.
It is important that we can reach you by mail so that your pension payments can continue without interruption. Moving to another country may also affect the taxation of your pension.
Return from abroad to Finland
If you move permanently back to Finland, report your new address in our online service under My details. Returning to Finland may also affect the taxation of your pension.
Anyone returning to Finland must obtain a tax card for pension from the Tax Administration. For the tax card, the Tax Administration needs information about all your income for the current year. You can get a certificate of the pension paid during the year from our online service under the Payment details tab.