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17143 Status of grant researchers

MyEL Pension insurance

If you have received a Finnish grant or scholarship awarded to support your scientific activities, MyEL insurance is mandatory for you. The pension insurance is provided by Mela (The Farmers' Social Insurance Institution). According to law, the obligation to insure applies

  • to all grant/scholarship recipients (incl. foreign persons) eligible for the Finnish social security system
  • to both recipients of a personal grant/scholarship and those in a grant/scholarship work group
  • to grants/scholarships from Finland for scientific work in Finland for a minimal period of four months work (under certain conditions, a grant/scholarship work carried out abroad)
  • to grants/scholarships exceeds a certain amount

The obligation to insure does not concern grants/scholarships intended only for the purpose of covering costs (such as a travel grant).

Once you have received an affirmative grant decision and the grant work has already begun or is about to begin, you can apply for the insurance. The cost of the insurance premiums is calculated according to your age and annual (MYEL) earnings. If the grant has been awarded to fund the work and cover expenses, expenses related to the grant work may deducted on the insurance application. The insurance premiums can also be deducted from taxable earned income.

Detailed instructions on the webpages of Mela.

MYEL pension insurance

As an insured grant or scholarship recipient, you are entitled to old-age pension, partial old-age pension, vocational rehabilitation and disability pension. The insurance also entitles your family members to family pension and group life insurance compensation.

Mela sickness allowance

Mela sickness allowance is available during a valid MYEL pension insurance starting from the fifth day of the illness.

MATA occupational accident and disease insurance

YEL pension insurance automatically includes MATA occupational accident and disease insurance for the same period, which compensates the insured for any accidents that take place during the course of the grant or scholarship work, as well as for occupational diseases caused in certain conditions by such work. You can complement your compulsory MATA occupational accident and disease insurance with voluntary leisure-time MATA non-occupational accident and disease insurance. When traveling abroad, you should also have travel insurance, as leisure-time accident insurance only covers the cost of treating injuries abroad. Further information about MATA insurances.

Social security and unemployment security

You may be entitled to Finnish social security coverage (e.g. child benefit, basic unemployment security, and sickness and parental allowances), if your residence in Finland is considered permanent and if your income is sufficiently high. If you are covered by Kela, you are also entitled to apply for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which guarantees necessary medical treatment when you travel or stay temporarily in another EU or EEA country or in Switzerland. Read more about Kela benefits for incomers, social security coverage for researchers, and EHIC on Kela's webpages.

Housing allowance, income support and day-care fees

All grants are taken into account as income when determining housing allowance and income support. A grant awarded for a dissertation will not be taken into account as income when determining the sum of day-care fees.

Maternity, paternity and parental allowances

The amounts of the maternity, paternity and parental allowances are determined on the basis of the most recent work income confirmed in taxation. If you have received a grant and been MyEL insured, maternity, paternity and parental allowances are determined according to the work income that formed its basis. If, however, the work income earned in the six months pre-ceding the allowance has increased from the in-come confirmed in taxation, the allowance will be paid according to this more recent income. If you have had no work income, the minimum allowance will be paid. Read more about Kela benefits for families with children on Kela's webpage.

Unemployment benefit

As a grant researcher you are entitled to an unemployment benefit if you have been MyEL insured altogether for 24 months during the previous 48 months. In addition, you are entitled to earnings-related allowance, if you are a member of an unemployment fund and have been a salaried employee at least for 26 weeks over the review period of 28 months before the start of the unemployment.

The unemployment benefit can be granted if the grant term is demonstrably over and you are seeking fulltime employment. When you become unemployed after a grant term you can, however, maintain your competence (e.g. familiarise yourself with new tools and methods, apply for grants, network in conferences) without this affecting your entitlement to unemployment benefits.

Grants are not taken into account when determining the amount of earnings-related unemployment benefit. Grant terms are not accepted for the employment condition of earnings-related allowance, but they extend the review period of the employment condition, which is why it is not recommend withdrawing from the fund during grant-funded work.

When working abroad with a grant awarded by a Finnish organisation you may, if certain conditions are met, be covered by the Finnish social security system and it is not worthwhile for you to terminate trade union or unemployment fund membership when leaving Finland.

Taxation

Grants and scholarships awarded for purposes scientific research can be exempt from taxation. Grants and scholarships awarded by a public entity (e.g. Finnish State, municipalities, Evangelical Lutheran Church or Finnish Orthodox Church, Academy of Finland or Nordic Council) are fully exempt from taxation. Grants and scholarships awarded by a private entity (such as private foundations and universities) exempt from tax if their total amount (grants from public and private entities summed together) does not exceed the amount of the annual artist grant after the deduction of the expenses for the production of income. If this limit is exceeded, you are responsible for paying withholding tax.

The grants and scholarships will be taxable income for the year during which they are paid. If the expenses associated with grant will materialise later, the future expenses can be set up as reserves, and be deducted from the grant. In this case, a sufficient explanation of the cost reserve must be delivered.

In special cases (e.g. when having received an award wihtout applying for it), the taxability is resolved on a case by case basis. When necessary, you must give an explanation of the tax exemption of the grant or scholarship.

More information on Taxation of grants, scholarships, awards for merit and other awards.

Damages caused by grant recipients

When you as a grant researcher cause the breakage of the university’s research equipment, if certain conditions are met, the university is compensated for the damage under the university’s property insurance. The university’s property insurance covers property, so it does not matter who causes the breakage. If you have caused the damage intentionally or negligently, your liability for damages is investigated separately, in which case compensation may also be sought under your liability insurance policy, if you have one. ​Grant researchers are not covered by the university’s liability insurance. ​