Social security agreement signed between Finland and China
Finland and China have signed a social security agreement affecting social security of people moving between the two countries. The agreement was signed on Finland's behalf by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Laura Räty and by Deputy Minister Hu Xiaoyi of China's Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The agreement specifically applies to pensions. Under the agreement, so-called posted workers can remain covered by the Finnish social security system for five years. An employer is not required to pay pension or unemployment insurance premiums to China for this period of time.
Correspondingly, posted workers from China remain within the Chinese system, and are not part of the Finnish work pension and unemployment insurance. The agreement averts duplicated pension and unemployment insurance payments for posted workers. This is important for Finnish companies operating in China, and for their employees.
At present, China requires insurance payments for a period of at least 15 years for an employee to be entitled to a pension. According to the new social security agreement, a pension that may have been earned in China will be paid to Finland.
China is a growing Asian export partner for Finland. Most Finns who live in China work for Finnish companies, or are family members of people working in the companies.
China has such an agreement with two other EU countries - Germany and Denmark. The social security agreement between Finland and China is expected to take effect next year when both countries have carried out the internal measures needed to implement the agreement.
Further information
Deputy Director-General Carin Lindqvist-Virtanen, tel. +358 2951 63166, [email protected]
Ministerial Counsellor Marja-Terttu Mäkiranta, tel. +358 50 500 2894, [email protected]
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