Partial early old-age pension (osittainen varhennettu vanhuuseläke)
See what a partial early pension pays each month and how much the early-take reduction costs you for the rest of your life.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
The partial early old-age pension (osittainen varhennettu vanhuuseläke) lets you draw 25% or 50% of the earnings-related pension you had accrued by the end of the previous year, at a permanent cost of 0.4% of that share for every month you take it before your earliest retirement age. Työeläke.fi’s own example: with €2,000 accrued, taking 50% three years early cuts your earnings-related pension by €144 a month for good, and the partial pension pays €856. People born 1956–1963 could start at 61, the 1964 cohort at 62. From the 1965 cohort onwards the lower limit is 3 years before your own earliest retirement age, which is not yet confirmed. You may keep working alongside it, and your salary keeps accruing new pension. The Kela national pension does not make up for the reduction. Take the partial pension after your earliest age instead, and the share is raised by 0.4% per month of delay.
Partial early old-age pension
Paid per month
€856.00
| Early-take reduction | 14.4 % |
| Permanent loss per month | €144.00 |
| Remaining part | €1,000 |
How the amount is worked out
The Employees Pensions Act lets you choose 25% or 50% of the pension accrued up to the end of the year before it starts. That share is permanently reduced by 0.4% for each month it begins before the start of the month following your earliest retirement age. In short: accrued pension × share × (1 − 0.4% × months early). The life expectancy coefficient is applied as well when the pension begins.
| Share | Months early | Reduction | Paid per month | Lost per month for life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 12 | 4.8% | €476 | €24 |
| 25% | 36 | 14.4% | €428 | €72 |
| 50% | 12 | 4.8% | €952 | €48 |
| 50% | 24 | 9.6% | €904 | €96 |
| 50% | 36 | 14.4% | €856 | €144 |
| 50% | 48 | 19.2% | €808 | €192 |
The last row is the maximum for the 1963 cohort: from 61 to the earliest age of 65 is 48 months, a 19.2% reduction. For people born in 1964 the gap is 36 months, because their lower limit rose to 62.
Age limits by birth year
Born 1956–1963: from 61. Born 1964: from 62, with an earliest retirement age of 65. Born 1965 or later: 3 years before your own earliest age, so the date moves with each cohort. Työeläke.fi forecasts 62 years 8 months for someone born in 1970, for example, but nothing beyond 1964 is confirmed. The retirement age page shows your cohort, and Työeläke.fi keeps the official table.
When the early money has been used up
A partial pension is essentially money drawn in advance. In the official example you receive €856 a month for three years, €30,816 in total, and afterwards your pension is €144 a month lower for life. Ignoring tax and indexation, the permanent loss catches up with the early payments about 17.8 years after your earliest retirement age.
So in pure euros it pays off if you do not live that long past retirement, and costs you if you do. The stronger case is usually practical: a partial pension can fund a shorter working week, topping up a reduced salary. Pay still accrues 1.5% in new pension during that time.
Worked example: going part-time three years early
Say you earn €3,500 a month and your pension record (työeläkeote) shows €1,800 accrued. Three years before your earliest retirement age you agree a move to 60 % hours and take 50% of your pension. Part-time pay is €2,100; the partial pension, after the 14.4% reduction, is €770. Gross income comes to €2,870, just €630 below your full-time salary.
The cost has two parts. From your earliest age you lose €130 a month for life, and three part-time years accrue €95 of monthly pension instead of the €158 full-time work would have earned. In exchange you work roughly two days a week less on almost the same income, which for many people is the whole point.
Reaching your earliest retirement age
The reduction is permanent and does not disappear when you reach your earliest age and move onto an old-age pension. The law attaches it only to the share you drew early, though: the part you left untouched and the new pension accrued from your salary meanwhile carry no early-take reduction.
Over twenty years the difference between a small and a large early draw is stark. Taking 25% one year early pays €5,712 up front and costs €5,760 over 20 years; the official 50%, three-year example pays €30,816 and costs €34,560. A short, small draw is relatively cheaper because the reduction percentage grows with every month.
Tax, Kela and the bigger picture
The partial pension is pension income, so it gets the pension income deduction. If you also earn a salary, that deduction shrinks because it is reduced on your total net earned income; pension tax shows the numbers. Kela will not top up the reduction through the national pension, which matters most if your total pension will be close to the national and guarantee pension thresholds.
Before deciding, run your accrued pension through the pension calculator and compare with the opposite strategy on deferring your pension, which pays 0.4% per month instead of costing it.