News

The Seafarer’s Pension Fund will participate in the Maritime Fair 2024 at Aboa Mare. Come visit our booth, ask about pension matters, and try your luck at our wheel of fortune!

Based on a 2019 study, the LOBAS leadership training program was launched. Now, we want to assess the current state of leadership in the maritime industry.

In accordance with the real estate investment strategy of the Seafarers' Pension Fund, the pension fund aims in the long term to diversify real estate investments outside of Finland and to primarily transition to indirect real estate investments. In June 2024, the first transaction of this type was completed, where three housing companies owned by the pension fund in the Helsinki metropolitan area (Helsingin Merilokki, Helsingin Merikotka, and Vantaan Kippari) were transferred to the ownership of the Swedish Slättö Core+ real estate fund, and the Seafarers' Pension Fund correspondingly subscribed to shares in the mentioned real estate fund.

In the spring of 2024, the Seafarers' Pension Fund created an AI strategy for the years 2024–2026 that aligns with MEK's business strategy. Our goal is to enhance the customer and employee experience with the aid of artificial intelligence. Moreover, we aim to use diverse data more effectively.

We will retrieve the tax rate for individuals receiving MEL pension or benefit directly from the tax authority's system.

Anu Imppola has been appointed as Director (COO) at the Seafarer's Pension Fund, effective August 12, 2024. She will join the management team of the Seafarer's Pension Fund and serve as the head of the administration and finance team.

The real-returns on investments by the Seafarers' Pension Fund were the highest over the long term compared to other Finnish pension operators, as shown by the international comparison of investment returns published by the Finnish Centre for Pensions on May 6, 2024.

The Seafarer's Pension Fund's renewed Annual and Sustainability Report 2023 has been published. Our goal for 2023 was to improve customer experience and sustainability.

In 2023, the number of insured persons and amount of the premium income increased from the previous year. According to the unconfirmed information in the financial statements for 2023, the return on investments was 4.0%. The solvency ratio of the Fund continues to be at an extremely strong level, 185.8%, while the average for earnings-related pension companies is 126.4%.

You can now find the pension payment dates in 2024 on our website.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has confirmed the earnings-related pension index rates for 2024. The earnings-related pension index will increase by approximately 5.7 per cent in comparison to 2023. The new pension index is 3037. All currently paid earnings-related pensions are adjusted according to this index.

The Finnish Centre for Pensions estimates that the 2024 earnings-related pension index will grow slightly more than the wage coefficient. As a result, a person who retires on an earnings-related pension before the end of 2023 may receive a slightly higher index increment than a person who retires after the turn of the year. A person who considers claiming a pension should also note the impact of continued work, taxation and Kela benefits on their pension amount.

Maritime safety award 2023 given to Master Mariner Matti Aaltonen. Aaltonen has had a distinguished career in official duties that promote maritime safety.

Financial support is needed – has the original objective of youth sailing been forgotten by today's maritime cluster? The COVID-19 pandemic brought hard times for the Sail Training Association of Finland as it was not possible to use the ships at all. Vahine may have to be sold to ease the burden of debt. Also, finding sponsors for youth work does not seem to be very easy in today's world. Many thanks to the Seafarers’ Pension Fund for recently joining the active sponsors. The Finnish seafaring and maritime industry are currently suffering from an extreme shortage of personnel. They were the original founders of the Sail Training Association of Finland (STAF), which has been operating successfully for 50 years. Back then, they were willing to invest in these types of activities and were specifically motivated by the idea of recruiting young people. Today, none of the companies within the seafaring or maritime industry seem to be prepared to actively support this significant recruitment channel. Would now be a good time to reconsider the power of maritime youth work? Even the Finnish Navy trains its cadets nowadays on foreign sailing ships.

The Seafarers’ Pension Fund has decided to grant the 2023 Ove Ericsson Award to Godby Shipping / Trailer Link as a recognition of the company's goal-oriented and successful work for the promotion of health and well-being at work of the seafarers working aboard their ships.

Do discrimination and unfair treatment occur aboard Finnish merchant ships? If they do, what form do they take and how should they be handled? This survey on this issue is being conducted as part of the thesis for Captain-to-be Jussi Nieminen, who is studying at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk). The survey will be sponsored by the Seafarers’ Pension Fund and will focus on active seafarers in the Fund’s register.

The Seafarers' Pension Funds' pensions advice and processing of applications is on vacation between 17th and 28th of July 2023.

The Corporate Responsibility Report 2022 of Seafarers' Pension Fund is published.