Information about supplementary artist pensions
Amount of supplementary artist pension per month 2026
The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency awards supplementary artist pensions. The recipient must be above the age of 60 or have a permanent work disability, in addition to which the applicant is currently living or has permanently lived in Finland.
The awarding of supplementary artist pensions is based on peer reviews: The artistic activities of applicants are assessed by experts appointed from the Pool of Experts of the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency. Decisions are made by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency based on a presentation.
The total amount of supplementary artist pensions awarded each year corresponds to 51 full artist pensions, and approximately one in 13 applicants is awarded an artist pension. Among recipients, approximately one in three receives a partial and the rest a full artist pension. The average age of recipients in recent years has been 64-66 years.
Supplementary artist pensions are paid by Keva. More than a thousand artists receive a monthly artist pension.
The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency has awarded supplementary artist pensions since 2016, before which pension decisions were made by the Ministry of Education and Culture. These pensions are based on the Act on Supplementary Artist Pensions (Laki ylimääräisistä taiteilijaeläkkeistä, 194/2016).
Supplementary artist pensions
The amount of full artist pensions as of 1 January 2026 is 1 637.26 euros per month. The amount of partial artist pensions is half this amount, 818.62 euros per month. Artist pensions are considered taxable income.
Income limits for supplementary artist pensions
The amount of the pension is determined on the basis of the applicant’s permanent income from pensions and other sources.
Applicants whose permanent income from pensions and other sources (excluding the national pension) is less than 1 637.26 euros per month (2026) are eligible for a full pension. Applicants whose income is 1 637.26–3 274.52 euros per month (2026) are eligible for a partial pension. Applicants whose income exceeds 3 274.52 euros per month are not eligible for an artist pension.
Entitlement to pension based on artist grants
If you have received a five-year artist grant that was awarded before 2009, you are entitled to a form of artist pension based on the grant. You can apply for this form of pension from Keva. Further information is available on the Keva website (in Finnish).