The minimum age for the obligation to pay unemployment insurance will increase to 18 at the beginning of August. The change applies to salaries paid on or after 1 August 2022. Please note the change in the age limit when dealing with August salaries.
If you have employees on your payroll who are not liable to pay unemployment insurance contributions because of their age, select “No obligation to provide insurance (unemployment insurance)” in “Type of exception to insurance” when filling in the earnings payment report form in the Incomes Register.
The payment obligation starts at the beginning of the month following the employee’s 18th birthday
Currently, the minimum age for the liability to pay unemployment insurance contributions is 17. Due to an amendment to the law, the obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions begins at the beginning of the calendar month following the employee's 18th birthday.
Please note that the obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions may temporarily cease to apply to an employee who is 17 years old at the time when the amendment enters into force on 1 August 2022. After that, the employee’s payment obligation starts once they turn 18.
Example: An employee works for a company from May to December 2022. The employee turns 18 in September. The employer deducts the unemployment insurance contribution from the employee’s May, June and July salary and again from their October, November and December salary.
The reason for the amendment is the extension of the compulsory schooling age
There will be no changes to the upper age limit for the obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions. The payment obligation does not apply to persons over 65. The payment obligation ends at the beginning of the month following the employee’s 65th birthday.
The reason behind the change in the law is the fact that Finland extended the compulsory education age to 18 years on 1 August 2021. For this reason, the Unemployment Security Act was amended so that the minimum age for granting unemployment benefits is 18 years in most cases. The idea is that the minimum age for the obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions should be as consistent as possible with the minimum age for receiving unemployment benefits. The changed minimum age for the obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions will not enter into force until a year later on 1 August 2022.
More information:
Unemployment insurance contribution on Employment Fund’s webpage
News: The minimum age for the liability to pay unemployment insurance contributions will change on 1 August 2022
