Plan ahead – Join The Entrepreneur Fund
As an entrepreneur, the idea of unemployment can seem far away. But entrepreneurship is always risky, which is why it pays to secure your own entrepreneurial path. If your business comes to an end, the earnings-related daily allowance paid by the Entrepreneur Fund will provide financial security and give you time to think about your next steps.
Membership is an affordable risk management tool
With the Entrepreneur Fund, you choose your own insurance level, which determines your membership fee and your daily allowance. In 2026, our lowest tax-deductible membership is €8.33/month. This is a small price to pay for financial security.
Membership gives you access to earnings-related unemployment allowance
Only as a member of the Entrepreneur Fund can you receive a daily earnings-related allowance after your business has closed down. Even at the minimum level, the daily allowance is €220 more per month than the basic allowance paid by Kela. Unlike Kela’s basic allowance, the Entrepreneur Fund’s daily allowance also, as a rule, accrues a pension of 1.5% up to the lowest retirement age.
Courses and advice to help you get ahead
As a member, you can watch courses to support your employment and attend webinars by top lecturers in their fields. You also get personal advice on membership, unemployment and daily allowance matters.
Important information about membership
Who can join?
The Entrepreneur Fund is open to entrepreneurs, farmers, partners and light entrepreneurs, regardless of their sector or type of business. To join, you must be an entrepreneur under the Unemployment Insurance Act and your pension insurance (YEL, MYEL or TyEL) must be based on an annual income of at least €15 481 in 2026. Scroll down and take the test to see if you can join the Entrepreneur Fund.
Am I an entrepreneur in unemployment security?
According to the Unemployment Security Act, an entrepreneur is
1. A person liable for YEL and MYEL insurance (excluding grant recipients)
2. A TyEL-insured co-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 (managing director, member of the board)
- 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 from work on which the pension insurance for self-employed persons is based must be €15 481/year.
Simply owning a business or part of a business does not make you an entrepreneur.
Transitioning from wage-earner to entrepreneur?
When transitioning from paid employment to self-employment, you should join the Entrepreneur Fund as soon as you start your business. This ensures that you start accruing the entrepreneur’s work requirement right away. Please note that you cannot be a member of two unemployment funds at the same time.
Entitlement to daily allowance
When transferring from an employee unemployment fund to the Entrepreneur Fund, you may still be entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance based on your previous paid employment if you become unemployed before fulfilling the Entrepreneur Fund’s work requirement.
Uninterrupted unemployment security
Join the Entrepreneur Fund within a month of starting your business to keep your unemployment security valid without interruptions. If you do not join the Entrepreneur Fund when you start a business, join as soon as possible to ensure that the gap between your right to daily allowance is as short as possible as you transition from wage-earner to an entrepreneur.
How long does the entitlement to wage-earners’ daily allowance last?
Your entitlement to an earnings-related daily allowance based on earnings from previous employment lasts for a maximum of 18 months counting from when you start a business. Your business activity is generally considered to have started when the actual productive or economic activity of your company has begun, when the company is entered in the Tax Administration’s VAT register and Prepayment Register, or when the company is entered in the Tax Administration’s Employer Register.
In addition, the work requirement you have accrued as a wage-earner (12 months) must have been accrued within 28 months before becoming unemployed. You need to have joined the Entrepreneur Fund within one month of resigning from your previous fund, and your membership fees need to have been paid up until the date of the transfer.
You should not stay in a wage-earners’ fund as an entrepreneur, as this will not accrue you the right to an entrepreneur’s daily allowance. In addition, any right to a wage-earner’s unemployment allowance that you may have earned will expire after you have been an entrepreneur for 18 months.
When can you get a daily allowance?
You are entitled to earnings-related daily allowance when:
- you have been working as an entrepreneur and a member of the Entrepreneur Fund for at least 15 months in the previous 48 months,
- your pension insurance has been in force at a minimum level of at least €15 481/year (2026 level), and
- your business has closed down or your employment in it has ended.
How is your daily allowance determined?
You choose your level of insurance, which determines the amount of your membership fee and the corresponding daily allowance. In 2026, your level of insurance must be at least €15 481, and at most equal to the annual income your pension insurance is based on.
Test if you are an entrepreneur
Frequently asked questions
Who is an entrepreneur ?
According to the Unemployment Security Act, an entrepreneur is a person who is
- YEL- and MYEL-insured (excluding the grant recipient),
or - 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 for self-employed workers 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.
What does the level of YEL insurance have to do with your 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 will determine your daily allowance based on the level of insurance you had with the Entrepreneurs’ Fund for 15 months before you became unemployed. The insurance level you choose for the fund must not exceed the annual income of your statutory pension insurance (YEL, MYEL annual income or TyEL annual salary of a co-owner/entrepreneur 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.
I am a light entrepreneur. Can I join the Entrepreneur Fund?
You can join the Entrepreneur Fund if you take out a self-employed persons’ pension insurance (YEL). Your YEL insurance must have an annual income of at least €15 481 in 2026.
I am both an employee and an entrepreneur. Can I join the Entrepreneur Fund?
You must insure yourself according to your primary job. If you are both an employee and an entrepreneur, you can choose whether you belong to the Entrepreneur Fund or an employee fund. You can join the Entrepreneur Fund if your annual pension insurance income is at least €15 481 in 2026.
You cannot belong to two different unemployment funds at the same time. On the membership application form, please authorize the new fund to send a notice of resignation to the previous fund. If you transfer from an employee fund to the Entrepreneur Fund within a month of starting your business, your unemployment security may continue uninterrupted.