Group Life Insurance

Group life insurance (ryhmähenkivakuutus) in Finland usually means the employees' group life insurance (TRHV). It is a life insurance policy taken out and paid for by the employer, agreed on by the labour market organisations. It is not based on law but on collective agreements: the employer must take it out if the collective agreement binding it, or the generally applicable national collective agreement in its sector, contains provisions on group life insurance. Life insurance that trade unions take out for their members is a different product with its own terms and beneficiaries; ask the union directly about it.

Benefit Amounts

The benefit consists of a spouse's share, children's shares and a possible accident increase. For deaths in 2026 or later, the spouse's share is 5,200–18,600 euros depending on the deceased's age (18,600 euros if the deceased was 49 or younger, 5,200 euros if they were 60 or older), and the child's share is 8,400 euros for each child under 22. If the death was caused by an accident, an accident increase of 50% of the spouse's and children's shares combined is also paid. The amounts follow the policy terms for the year of death.

Beneficiaries and Claiming

The beneficiaries are set in the policy terms: the spouse and children under 22. The employer should, where possible, contact the beneficiaries and give them the policy terms and claim instructions. The benefit is claimed from the claims service of the Finnish Workers' Compensation Center (TVK) online or on a paper form, and each adult beneficiary makes their own application. Attachments are usually not needed; a death certificate is only submitted when claiming the accident increase. The claim must be made within ten years of the end of the year of death.

Relationship to Estate Assets

The group life insurance benefit is paid directly to the beneficiary, is the beneficiary's personal property and is not part of the estate's assets. However, the benefit is reported in the estate inventory deed. According to the Finnish Tax Administration, a benefit paid to a close relative, such as a spouse, child or the spouse's child, is exempt from income tax but taxable in inheritance taxation. A benefit paid to someone who is not a close relative is capital income and is not subject to inheritance tax. Under section 7 of the Income Tax Act, a cohabiting partner counts as a spouse only if the couple has or has had a child together or has previously been married to each other; otherwise a benefit paid to a cohabiting partner is taxed as capital income. A close relative's benefit is added to their inheritance share, and tax is only payable if the share exceeds the lower limit for inheritance tax. The former 35,000-euro exemption was abolished from the start of 2018. More information can be found in our estate inventory guide.