As of 1 January 2021, occupational accident insurance companies and the Finnish Workers' Compensation Center will report paid benefits and pensions to and retrieve information on benefits from the Incomes Register
The types of information to be reported to and retrieved from the Incomes Register will increase on 1 January 2021 as paid pensions and benefits will also be reported in the Register. The payer of the benefit reports paid pensions and benefits to the Incomes Register. Details of the decision on the pension or benefit and information on whether a claim for compensation is pending are not reported to the Incomes Register.
Occupational accident insurance companies and the Finnish Workers' Compensation Center will also begin reporting the following benefits and pensions payable under the Workers’ Compensation Act or Employment Accidents Insurance Act to the Incomes Register:
- daily allowance, rehabilitation allowance, accident pension and annuity
- care allowance/handicap supplement and handicap allowance
- survivors' pension, funeral allowance and assistance pension
- loss of wages during physical care, loss of wages during a period of examination, and loss of income of a next of kin during adaptation training
From now on, income earners (private individuals) will be able to view information on their pay, benefits and pension in the Incomes Register online service. If the claimant notices an error in the benefits and pensions reported in the Incomes Register, they must contact the insurance company that paid the benefit in order to correct the information.
How will occupational accident insurance companies and the Workers’ Compensation Center use the data on benefits reported in the Incomes Register?
Starting 1 January 2021, insurance companies and the Workers’ Compensation Center retrieve the information on pensions and benefits they need to settle statutory insurance claims from the Incomes Register. The change in the way data on benefits are retrieved will have no effect on the claim process.
The settlement of a claim refers to deciding on the amount and payment of compensation for loss of income, for example. Insurance companies need data on benefits when determining an injured person’s annual earnings, retroactively reimbursing another institution for compensations for loss of income, or issuing a decision on income adjustment of a surviving spouse’s pension.
Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, insurance companies and the Workers’ Compensation Center have the right to obtain information on benefits paid to the employee and other matters which are essential for processing the claim from the insurance or pension institution, public authority or other body implementing the statutory insurance and subject to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
The Tax Administration’s Incomes Register Unit forwards and discloses information in the register which the user of the information is entitled to obtain from the payer of the benefit or pension or other user of the information, notwithstanding secrecy provisions and other restrictions on disclosure.