Employment relationship
Semi-retirement
Elderly employees and self-employed persons can reduce their working hours by switching to part-time work and claiming a partial old-age pension. The minimum age for retirement is 61. Those who were born after 1963 may retire later. The old-age pension is permanently cut by 0.4% for each pension month by the early retirement deduction that is part of the system.
Employees who wish to take a partial old-age pension must agree on their semi-retirement with their employer. If the employee wants to reduce their regular working hours, the employer must primarily arrange the work so that it is possible to do so. When reducing working hours, both the employee's needs and the employer's production and service activities are taken into account. The employee does not have an unconditional right to reduced working hours, but if the employer refuses to arrange part-time work, the employer must explain to the employee why the transition to reduced working hours is not possible.
The eligibility criteria for partial old-age pension are slightly different depending on whether the employee works in the private sector or the public sector. The partial old-age pension schemes of self-employed farmers and seafarers also have certain special features.
More information about partial old-age pensions is available at www.työeläke.fi.
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