Purpose of our activities
The Finnish Pension Alliance TELA looks after the interests of all authorized pension providers operating in Finland. We represent the entire sector and our membership comprises all insurers providing statutory earnings-related pensions.
Content of this page
Administration and organization
In legal form, we are a registered association. Our members decide how we conduct our affairs. The highest decision-making power is vested in the Annual General Meeting. The priorities of our strategy and operations are determined by the Board of Directors selected from among our membership.
Practical operations are run by the association’s expert organization, i.e. the TELA office. Our office is assisted by advisory committees and expert groups composed of member organization representatives. The advisory committees and expert groups have been established by decision of the TELA Board of Directors or the Managing Director.
Cornerstones of our operations
Our mission is to strengthen the earnings-related pension system and to influence the sector’s general operating environment. Our work consists of advocacy in the sector and the production of various contents associated with this. We share these contents through communication, advocacy and education about society. We also provide analyses and other material pertaining to the economy and investments of the earnings-related pension system.
Our operations are based on diverse expertise in the earnings-related pension sector, on good networks and on explicit communications. Our aim is that our advocacy is transparent, goal-oriented and persistent.
More information about our mission statement and desired state can be found in our strategy.
Advocacy for the sector
Our members are responsible for the implementation of statutory earnings-related pension provision. Our advocacy work therefore focuses on issues pertaining to the implementation of earnings-related pensions and the operating environment of pension insurers.
Through our advocacy work and the associated communications, we influence:
- laws and other regulations concerning the sector of earnings-related pensions; and
- trust and understanding felt towards the earnings-related pension system.
Our advocacy does not apply to the contents of pension provision. Agreement on such issues is reached through tripartite negotiations held between the central labour market organizations.
The provision and financing of earnings-related pensions have an impact on the confidence felt towards the system. We help to maintain this confidence, for instance by disseminating information on issues pertaining to pension provision, the financing of earnings-related pensions, and pension policy.
Earnings-related pensions constitute an element of Finnish social security. Decisions on social security are made in Finland’s own legislation. For this reason, the bulk of our work is done in Finland. However, we are also active in Europe and internationally.
We influence EU legislation in the field of earnings-related pensions and international recommendations concerning pension issues. This is done both through Finnish national decision-making and through cooperation at the EU level.
Many issues revolving around pension investments are linked with European legislation and financial supervision carried out at the EU level. In consequence, some of our advocacy work pertaining to these issues takes place in the EU. For our own part, we also influence European and international recommendations concerning the pension sector.
We are an Associate Member of the European Association of Paritarian Institutions of Social Protection (AEIP). AEIP is an EU-level interest organization that represents institutions managing pension provision and other forms of social security. We are represented on the AEIP Managing Board and in working groups.
We also influence EU law by participating in the determination of Finland’s positions on EU issues in the preparative sub-committees operating under the Committee for EU Affairs. We are members in three preparative sub-committees operating within the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: 16 (insurance services); 25 (social affairs); and 27 (social security issues related to the mobility of persons). We are also represented in sub-committee 10 (financial services and capital movements) in the Ministry of Finance.
We participate in international cooperation within the OECD by contributing to its Working Party on Private Pensions. We are also members of two think tanks in Brussels (CEPS and Bruegel).
Communications, education and working with stakeholders
We provide reliable, timely and well-researched information and well-reasoned arguments on various issues in our sector. We provide information not only for our members but also for the media, the authorities, political decision-makers and our other cooperation partners. News on the investments of pension assets is also relayed to the European media. We are also active on social media.
Some of our communications has a direct link with advocacy. In addition, we participate in social debate on issues associated with earnings-related pensions. One aspect of our work is education in the earnings-related pension scheme.
We want our society’s current and future decision-makers and leaders to be familiar with the basic issues of the earnings-related pension sector. Among other things, our education calendar contains regular courses on earnings-related pensions for the representatives of employee organizations and for other stakeholders.
We are also responsible for the training of new members elected to the boards of directors and supervisory boards of authorized pension providers. For our part, we ensure that they have sufficient information on issues pertaining to the provision of earnings-related pensions and the investment of pension assets, as required by the legal provisions on the governance of pension providers.
More information about our education work is available on the page Goals and target groups of our education.
