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Lower earnings-related pension contributions for customers

Varma is a solvent company. That means the best client bonuses in the sector and lower pension contributions for our customers. Our modern digital services provide our customers with a comprehensive set of tools that enable them to take care of their pension matters easily.

Customer feedback is essential for improving our services. We are firmly involved in digital development. In spring 2015 we launched the ‘Varma mobiili’ service for our self-employed customers. They can update their earned income and order an earnings certificate and certificates to be attached to an offer.

We also improved our increasingly popular Workability Management Information Service to better match the needs of our clients. A workability management action plan was introduced in the service. It guides the client in setting workability management goals and indicators with respect to the company’s strategic objectives and business targets. Tools for creating an assessment at a small employer level and group level, and a view to client information were also added.

Clients can now take care of their earnings-related pension, banking and insurance matters more broadly as we set up, together with If P&C Insurance and Nordea Bank, an online service, Onnistu yrittäjänä ("Succeed as an entrepreneur"), for entrepreneurs. Experiences with the service have been good, and it will be further developed in 2016.

Co-operation with the Palkkaus.fi online service, which began in 2015, makes it easier for households to take care of all of their statutory payments at once. Through the Palkkaus.fi service we promote work carried out in Finland.

We support our client companies and promote their growth

Due to the economic situation, 2015 was a difficult year for many Finnish companies. Finland’s stagnant economic growth and structural problems in working life affected several business sectors.

2015 was also characterised by the shift in working life, co-determination negotiations and redundancies. Varma supports its client companies so that they will be better positioned to get in on the growth once the economic situation begins to improve.

Although Finland’s economic situation is still weak, the situation is not directly influencing all companies; there are companies that are growing and seeking growth.

In 2015, we created a new event concept, Varmasti, to support growth companies. The events were enthusiastically received, and a total of six were organised in different parts of Finland, with more than 900 representatives of our client companies attending the events. Additionally, more 200 people attended them through webinars. We will continue to support the growth of companies of all sizes and to bring them together so that they can benefit from one another’s competence and success.

Read more about the Varmasti events on our website (in Finnish).

Another successful year in client acquisition

Similar to the previous year, Varma had a good sales year in 2015 and was successful in client transfers between earnings-related pension insurance companies, with a net result of EUR 52 million in terms of TyEL insurance contributions for the entire year.

We handle earnings-related pension matters efficiently and with a long record of experience. Our long-term efforts to prevent disability risk bring added value to our customers.

Varma's premiums written stood at EUR 4,576 (4,344) million in 2015.

We pay the best client bonuses in the sector

Varma’s solvency is strong. For our customers, that means they receive the best client bonuses in the sector which lower their final insurance contributions.

The amount of the bonuses is influenced by the pension company’s solvency capital and by the loading profit, an indicator of the cost-effectiveness of the operations.

Client bonuses lower the employers’ final insurance contributions. We reserved EUR 115 (117) million, or 3.5% (3.8%) of the employers’ TyEL contribution, for client bonuses to be paid for 2015.

Transfer to client bonuses 2011–2015

We provide services through many channels

We have made taking care of insurance matters through our online service as easy as possible for our customers. In addition to comprehensive digital services, we also offer phone and chat services; the latter was made more widely available in 2015.

Our headquarters are located in Salmisaari, Helsinki, and our network of account managers covers nearly the entire nation. For our self-employed clients and small client companies we offer a comprehensive service network with our co-operation partners, If P&C Insurance and Nordea Bank. Major employers are served by Varma’s company-specific service teams.