Ninety-four per cent of Finnish agricultural entrepreneurs have accrued a pension from salaried work at some point in their working lives, a study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) has found.

In 2024, the total income accruing to farmers’ pensions averaged nearly €42,000, including YEL (self-employed) earned income and salary income. The average MYEL (farmers’ pension insurance) income, which reflects the work input of agricultural entrepreneurs, was approximately €23,000.

Of agricultural entrepreneurs, 42 per cent accrued a pension in addition to MYEL earned income from salaried work, and 13 per cent based on YEL earned income.

“Women, people under the age of 50, those with higher education degrees, and those with low MYEL income levels are more likely to have paid jobs alongside their agricultural entrepreneurship,” ETK economist, Sanna Tenhunen, said.

The study found that entrepreneurship contributed to pensions more often than average among male agricultural entrepreneurs and those with at most a basic education.

ETK said salary income earned alongside agricultural entrepreneurship accounted for nearly two-thirds of annual pensionable income and was particularly important for those whose MYEL earned income was low.

“A low MYEL income level may indicate that farming is a secondary occupation. In this case, working as an employee or entrepreneur may account for a significant portion of the annual income that accrues pension.

“Entrepreneurship alongside farming is clearly less common than salaried employment, and overall it accounts for only a small proportion of the pension accrual of agricultural entrepreneurs.

“However, for agricultural entrepreneurs who have YEL earned income, it is very significant: on average, almost half of their pension accrual is based on YEL earned income,” Tenhunen explained.

However, for the majority of agricultural entrepreneurs, MYEL insurance remains the main source of pension security. For around half of agricultural entrepreneurs, MYEL earned income accounts for more than 90 per cent of their pensionable income.

Tenhunen added that the structure of pensions accumulated over entire working careers reflects similar demographic differences to annual pension accruals.

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