Information about supplementary artist pensions

A supplementary artist pension may be awarded as recognition of an outstanding contribution to the creative or performing arts. Supplementary artist pensions are not available to artists whose permanent income from pensions and other sources exceeds a certain a limit. The application period for supplementary artist pensions is in September.
Arkkitehti tutkii seinämää
1 601,92 euros

Amount of supplementary artist pension per month 2024

Taike 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, in which members of the national arts councils assess the artistic merits of applicants. Decisions are made by Taike.

The total amount of supplementary artist pensions awarded each year corresponds to 51 full artist pensions, and approximately one in nine 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 65-66 years.

Supplementary artist pensions are paid by Keva. More than a thousand artists receive a monthly artist pension.

Taike 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 2024 is 1 601.92 euros per month. The amount of partial artist pensions is half this amount, 800.95 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 1 601.92 euros per month (2024) are eligible for a full pension. Applicants whose income is 1 601.92–3 203.84 euros per month (2024) are eligible for a partial pension. Applicants whose income exceeds 3 203.84 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).