On separate application, an artist may be granted a supplementary state artist pension. The artist pension can be granted for exceptional pursuits in the art to a visual creative artist or performing artist who lives or has lived permanently in Finland.

Without a special reason, the pension is not granted to a person under 60 years of age. Permanent disability arising from the artist’s state of health can be considered such an exceptional reason for granting the pension to a younger person.

The state artist pension is not consolidated with other pensions; instead, it will be paid on top of the other pensions (including the national pension) received by the artist. An exception to this is the guaranteed pension, which the recipient of a state artist pension does not receive in practice.

The state artist pension is taxable income, and it can be granted as either a full pension or partial pension. In 2016, the full pension amounted to EUR 1,328.69, and the partial pension was half of this, or EUR 664.35.

In the decision on the pension, all the applicant’s pension income and other regular income is taken into account. The pension can be granted in full-pension form if the applicant’s income, excluding the national pension, remains below the amount of the artist pension.

In general, the applicant’s monthly pension income is considered to be permanent income affecting the amount of this pension. If the pension has not yet been granted, a calculated assumed amount of pension income can be utilised. In the determination of the amount of the state artist pension, capital income too may be taken into account, if it is considered a permanent source of income.

When the income limits set are exceeded, the artist pension may be granted as a partial pension.

If the applicant’s pension income and other regular income, excluding the national pension, comes to double the amount of the artist pension (i.e., EUR 2,657.38 per month, in 2016), the state artist pension is not granted.

The table below lists the income limits and pension amounts for the artist pension in 2016.

A partial artist pension can be increased to a full pension if the artist’s regular income remains below the amount of the artist pension.

Administration of state pensions for artists has been transferred from the Ministry of Education and Culture to Arts Promotion Centre Finland, which grants the pension upon application after having received a relevant statement from the Arts Council of Finland. Applications for pensions are processed once a year.

At the end of 2015, there were, in total, 1,061 people receiving a state artist pension. Each year, approximately 500 new applications arrive, and approximately 10% of applicants have received a favourable pension decision. In 2015, there were 517 applicants, and 60 new applicants in all were awarded an artist pension.

Additional information on the state artist pension, including the application forms, can be found on the Web site of Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

LINKS (content in Finnish)
Taike – Arts Promotion Centre Finland