ukk-kategoria: Becoming a member

According to the Unemployment Security Act, an entrepreneur is a person who is

1. YEL- and MYEL-insured (excluding the grant recipient),
   or
2. a TyEL-insured part-owner of a business and a member of the entrepreneur’s family, if he or she
   • owns, alone or jointly with family members, at least 15% or 30% of the company in which he/she works in a managerial position (director, member of the board of directors)
   • owns, alone or jointly with family members, at least 50% of the company in which he or she works without holding a managerial position (as an employee)

In addition, the income on which the pension insurance is based must be at least €15 481 per year. Simply owning a business or part of a business does not make you an entrepreneur

Please contact our customer service, if you are unsure of your status as in unemployment security.

We ask about your YEL insurance level, as you can join the Entrepreneur’s Fund if the annual income based on your pension insurance (YEL/MYEL/TyEL) is at least €15 128 in 2025.

We determine your daily allowance based on the insurance level under which you have been insured with the Entrepreneurs’ Unemployment Fund for the 15 months preceding your unemployment. The insurance level you choose in the fund must not exceed the confirmed annual earned income of your statutory pension insurance (YEL or MYEL annual earned income, or the annual TyEL salary of a part-owner or an entrepreneur’s family member).

We do not check the level of annual income on which your YEL insurance is based, and we do not receive direct information about changes to your YEL insurance annual income from your insurance company. As a member, you are therefore responsible for ensuring that your insurance level is correct.

You can join the Entrepreneur Fund if you take out an entrepreneurs’ pension insurance (YEL). Your YEL insurance must have an annual income of at least €15 481 in 2026.

You must insure yourself according to your primary line of work. If you work both as a full-time employee and as a full-time entrepreneur, you may choose whether to belong to the Entrepreneur Fund or an wage-earners’ unemployment fund. You can join the Entrepreneur Fund if the annual earned income of your pension insurance is at least €15,481 in 2026.

You cannot be a member of two different unemployment funds at the same time. On the membership application, authorize the new fund to send a resignation notice to your previous fund. If you transfer from an wage-earners’ unemployment fund to the Entrepreneur Fund within one month of starting your business activity, your unemployment security may continue without interruption.

To join, you must be an entrepreneur under the Unemployment Security Act and your pension insurance (YEL, MYEL or TyEL) must have an annual income of at least €15 481 in 2026.

Under the Unemployment Security Act, an entrepreneur is a person who, for their main occupation, is required to take out pension insurance under the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act (YEL) or the Farmers’ Pensions Act (MYEL).

A part-owner of a company is also regarded as an entrepreneur. A part-owner is considered to be a person insured under TyEL who:

1. works in a managerial position in a limited liability company in which they personally hold at least 15% of the share capital or voting rights, or otherwise exercise equivalent control; or
2. works in a managerial position in a limited liability company in which they, together with their family members, hold at least 30% of the share capital or voting rights, or otherwise exercise equivalent control; or
3. works in a limited liability company in which they personally, or together with their family members, hold at least 50% of the share capital or voting rights, or otherwise exercise equivalent control; or
4. works, as referred to in points 1 or 2 above, in another type of company or entity in which they personally, or together with their family members, are considered to exercise control equivalent to that described in those points.

When calculating ownership, indirect ownership through other companies or entities is also taken into account if the person or their family members, or the person together with their family members, own at least 50% of an intermediary entity or otherwise exercise equivalent control.

A person is considered to hold a managerial position if they are the Managing Director or a member of the Board of Directors of a limited liability company, or if they hold a comparable position in a limited liability company or another company or entity.

Here family members include the spouse or cohabiting partner of the person working in the company, as well as persons who are directly related to them in the ascending or descending line (parents and children) and who live in the same household.

The definition of an entrepreneur under the Unemployment Security Act is based on the “ownership and work” principle. Mere ownership does not make a person an entrepreneur; the person must also work in the company.