Notes on Individual Rules under the Japan-Finland Social Security Agreement

For elimination of dual coverage, the Japan-Finland Social Security Agreement covers following social security systems: 　　
- For Japan: Public pension systems and employment insurance system
- For Finland: Earnings-Related Pension system and unemployment insurance
If you are sent from Japan to work in Finland, you will be exempted from coverage of the Finnish systems from the first date of such detachment* to the last date of the detachment, but no more than 5 years from the first date of the detachment, on condition that you are covered by the Japanese public pension system and the employment insurance system.
* From the date of entry into force of the Agreement, if you have already been detached before the entry into force of the Agreement.
If you, covered by the Japanese pension system and the employment insurance system, are sent to work in Finland, please submit a photocopy of your Japanese Certificate of Coverage to your employer in Finland, with a photocopy of your employment insurance enrollment confirmation notice (employer’s copy) attached to the back side of the Certificate. Please present the Certificate if the Finnish authority asks for it.
If you, covered by the Japanese employment insurance system but not by the public pension system, are sent to work in Finland, please contact the coverage section, Employment Insurance Division, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Tel: 03-5253-1111) and ask how to apply for the Certificate of Coverage.

If you work as an employee on board of a sea-going vessel flying the flag of either contracting country, you will be subject only to the systems of the contracting country where your employer is located.

If you work as a crew on an aircraft of international traffic and if otherwise covered by the social security systems of both countries, you will be subject only to the systems of the country where your employer is located.

If you need to continue to work as a detached worker (or a self-employed person) in Finland for more than 5 years, you can continuously be covered by the systems of the sending country as far as the total detachment period (original detachment period and extension period) is not expected to be more than 8 years, if related institutions of both countries agree based on individual examination.

If you have any coverage period under the Finnish pension system, you are eligible for old-age benefits and survivors’ benefits under the Earnings-Related Pension without totalizing Japanese coverage periods, since there is no minimum coverage period requirements to receive the Finnish benefits.

Please note, however, that a certain minimum coverage periods is required to receive some of Finnish disability pension benefits. You may totalize your Japanese coverage periods to fill the gap for benefits entitlement.

If you do not have enough Japanese periods of coverage alone to qualify for Japanese benefits, your periods of coverage under the Finnish pension system can be totalized to establish the entitlement of the Japanese benefits as long as such periods of both countries do not overlap.
Please note that the Finnish pension records have been managed by the yearly unit of a year since 2005. For totalization purpose, your one-year coverage under the Finnish pension system will be considered as 12-months coverage under the Japanese pension system. Please note, however, that totalized periods do not exceed 12 months per year.
If you meet the qualification requirements by totalizing periods of coverage in both country, you may receive the Japanese benefits; the benefit amounts correspond to the periods of coverage under the Japanese pension system.

You can file the application for the old-age benefits under the Earnings-Related Pension system six months prior to the date when you become eligible for it.

The old-age benefits under the Earnings-Related Pension system are retroactively payable for up to three months prior to the claim. The survivors’ benefits and disability benefits are also retroactively payable for up to six months prior to the claim.

If you reside in Japan, the Finnish pension benefits are paid by direct deposit to your bank account in Japan.

If you, a detached worker or a self-employed person, have already been working in Finland before the date of entry into force of the Agreement, you will be exempted from the Finnish systems for 5 years from the date of entry into force of the Agreement, as long as such detachment is expected to end within 5 years from the date of entry into force of the Agreement. Please apply for a Japanese Certificate of Coverage at the Japan Pension Service branch office and receive your Certificate after the entry into force of the Agreement. Then please ask your employer to present it to the Finnish authority and to complete the procedure to end the coverage by the Finnish systems.

If you receive Japanese pension benefits in Finland, your Japanese benefits are subject to income tax in Finland and exempted from Japanese income tax. To be exempt from Japanese income tax under this rule, you must submit two completed “Application form for Income Tax Convention (Form 9)” to the Headquarters of the Japan Pension Service. You can download the form from the Japanese National Tax Agency website（外部リンク）.