Chapter 6 a of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019, Public Information Management Act) entered into force as of 1 May 2023. The provision on entry into force of the act on the amendment of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (488/2023) includes an 18-month transition period that applies to such automated decision-making processes that were in use upon the law’s entry into force. In accordance with the provision on entry into force, a decision equivalent to the adoption decision specified in the Public Information Management Act’s section 28 d must be made on the automated decision-making procedures in force before the act entered into force.
This decision equivalent to the adoption decision applies to Varma’s automated decision-making procedure for terminating YEL insurance under the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act (1272/2006, YEL), which was in use when the Public Information Management Act entered into force on 1 May 2023.
Varma continues the automated decision-making procedure regarding the termination of YEL insurance, which was adopted before 1 May 2023.
This decision confirms that the automated decision-making procedure for termination of YEL insurance, adopted by Varma before 1 May 2023, complies with the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003) and the Public Information Management Act.
Conditions for automated decision-making
Chapter 8 b of the Administrative Procedure Act stipulates the conditions that must be met, in addition to what is stipulated elsewhere in the act, in order for an authority to be able to make a decision that ends the processing of the matter using automated decision-making without the decision being verified and approved by a natural person.
The authority must assess beforehand which matters are of a nature that they can be decided using automation. The regulations on automated decision-making also apply to Varma when it carries out its task as an implementer of statutory earnings-related pension cover.
In accordance with section 53 e, subsection 2 of the Administrative Procedure Act, a matter can be decided by means of automation if it does not include factors that would require case-specific consideration based on the prior assessment of the party making the decision, or if the processor of the matter has, on a case-specific basis, considered the factors required for automated decision-making.
Furthermore, according to section 53 f of the Administrative Procedure Act, a condition for automated decision-making is that a natural person whom the decision applies to can, in all respects, require that it be corrected free of charge as stipulated in the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 7 a, or with an equivalent demand, which is processed by the authority having made the decision or by an authority that belongs to the same controller.
The automated decision-making procedure for YEL insurance at Varma is structured in such a way that processing that requires the consideration of an expert (section 53e (2) of the Administrative Procedure Act) or situations that otherwise require reviewing by a processor are directed to a natural person for processing. This has been achieved using the so-called exclusion technique so that only decision-making situations that have not been separately excluded enter the automated process. All such work stages that require consideration by a processor have been excluded from automated processing.
Automated decision-making procedure for terminating YEL insurance
The termination of YEL insurance refers to the process in which the self-employed person’s YEL insurance is terminated when they end their entrepreneurial activities as defined in the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act or if they are no longer otherwise obligated to insure. The automated resolution of the matter is based on the applicable act and processing rules prepared on the basis of prior consideration.
According to YEL, section 111, paragraph 3, the validity of the insurance will end if it is revealed based on the self-employed person’s notification or some other account that they have ceased their entrepreneurial activities as referred to in the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act or if they are no longer otherwise obligated to insure. The pension institution can, after receiving the account, decide to retroactively terminate the insurance up to the point in time when the conditions for insurance are no longer met. The obligation of an entrepreneur to insure themselves according to YEL and the conditions for insurance are laid down in sections 1, 3, and 4 of YEL.
The automated decision-making procedure regarding the termination of YEL insurance is limited to situations where the decision can be unambiguously derived from the legislation on the obligation to insure and the facts reported by the entrepreneur. When the work of an entrepreneur as an entrepreneur as stipulated in the Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act ends entirely or is interrupted for a longer period, the assessment of the obligation to insure does not contain, according to Varma’s assessment, factors that require case-specific consideration and the insurance can be terminated based on the entrepreneur’s notification. Thus, the termination of the insurance can be resolved automatically in the situations described above, unless the situation of the insurance or some other account provided by the entrepreneur in their application requires that a natural person process the matter.
The entrepreneur can, in all respects, demand a rectification of the decision they received free of charge through an appeal as specified in chapter 7 a of the Administrative Procedure Act. A decision concerning the termination of YEL insurance can be appealed in accordance with YEL, chapter 10.
- Processing rules for the automated decision-making procedure for termination of YEL insurance at Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company
- Tasks and decision-making
- Quality management, quality assurance, and handling of error situations
- Data protection and information security descriptions
- Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003)
- Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019)
- Act on an amendment to the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (488/2023)
- Self-Employed Persons’ Pensions Act (1272/2006)
The decision-making procedure has been implemented before the entry into force of chapter 6 a of the Public Information Management Act on 1 May 2023.
This decision (that is equivalent to the adoption decision) on the automated decision-making procedure currently in use, which was adopted before 1 May 2023, was made on 26 September 2024.
This decision (that is equivalent to the adoption decision) on the automated decision-making procedure currently in use was made by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company’s insurance services’ management team. The Senior Vice-President responsible for insurance services is Pasi Mustonen.
For more information on Varma's automated decision-making procedure for YEL insurance decisions, please contact Insurance Services Director Riikka Nivus, tel. +358 10 192 100 (switchboard) or firstname.lastname(at)varma.fi.
Decisions and releases concerning Varma’s automated decision-making procedures are publicly available on Varma’s website at varma.fi.