If you are unfit to work in your own profession or your work capacity has diminished by at least 3/5, you are eligible for a disability pension. In order to receive a disability pension you need to have been disabled for a continuous period of at least one year. The pension can begin once the payment of sickness allowance has ended. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) pays the sickness allowance.
Disability pensions can be granted for a fixed period if it can be assumed that your capacity to work will be restored through treatment or rehabilitation. A fixed-term disability pension is called a cash rehabilitation benefit.
Partial disability pension
The aim of a partial disability pension is to support you if your work capacity has weakened but you can still continue at work with a lighter workload.
You are eligible for a partial disability pension if your work capacity has diminished by at least 2/5.
If it is likely that the illness that has caused the disability will improve after a certain period, you may receive the pension as a fixed-term cash rehabilitation benefit which is equal in value to the partial disability pension.
Assessing work capacity
When a disability pension decision is considered, an assessment is made of your remaining work capacity. At the same time an assessment is made of whether your work capacity is sufficient for you to be able to meet the demands set by your job. Rehabilitation options are also evaluated.
Disability pension decisions at Keva are made jointly by a consultant physician and a pension adjudicator. If necessary, additional experts can take part in the decision process. Work capacity is assessed based on statements by the attending doctors and on data in other documents.
Amount of disability pension or partial disability pension
The amount of disability pension granted is determined by the amount of pension you have accrued during your working life as well as your projected pension. Your projected pension is calculated from the onset of the disability to the age of 63 years.
The old-age pension following a disability pension is equal in size to the disability pension.
A partial disability pension is 50% of the full disability pension. You will receive an estimate of your pension amount in the advance decision on your partial disability pension. At the same time you will be informed of your earnings limit, i.e. information on the maximum amount you can earn while on the pension. Based on this information you can make arrangements for your part-time work together with your employer.
