Average monthly pension in Finland in 2021: 1,784 euros
Nearly one third of all pensions in Finland are higher than 2,000 euros per month. Every third Finn receives a monthly pension of less than 1,250 euros. The gender gap in pensions remained unchanged.
The average monthly pension in 2021 in Finland was 1,784 euros, an ample 20 euros more than in 2020. The median pension was 1,559 euros per month.
Around 70 per cent of all Finnish monthly pensions were less than 2,000 euros. For one third of pension recipients, the monthly pension was less than 1,250 euros. Nine per cent received a monthly pension of more than 3,000 euros.
“The gender gap is particularly pronounced among those receiving the highest pensions. Nearly 15 per cent of men received a pension higher than 3,000 euros while the same rate for women was only five per cent. The pension amount reflects one’s working life, its length and the wage level,” explains statistics manager Tiina Palotie-Heino (Finnish Centre for Pensions).
The pension income is in gross amounts. The data is based on joint statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions and Kela.
No change in gender gap
In 2021, the average monthly pension for Finnish women was 1,601 euros and for men 2,006 euros. In other words, women’s pensions were one fifth smaller than men’s. The gender gap remained unchanged compared to 2020.
Since pension accrues based on income, the gaps in wages are strongly reflected in gaps in pensions.
Share of pension recipients of overall population growing
In Finland, already 1.5 million persons receive a pension in their own right. In one decade, the number of pension recipients has grown by 170,000 persons (12%).
Of all persons aged 16 or above, one third receive a pension.
Monthly pension of disability pensioners less than 1,200 euros
Around 186,000 persons, or slightly less than six per cent of the working-age population in Finland, received a disability pension in 2021. Over a period of ten years, the number of disability pension recipients has reduced by 25 per cent.
The average monthly disability pension in Finland in 2021 was 1,169 euros. The average monthly old-age pension was 1,867 euros.
Pension expenditure nearly 33 billion euros
In 2020, earnings-related and Kela pensions were paid to the amount of 32.8 billion euros. Pensions paid under the earnings-related pension system amounted to 30.3 billion euros and pensions paid by Kela to 2.5 billion euros.
The majority of the pensions (86%) were paid in the form of old-age pensions. Disability pensions accounted for 7 per cent and survivors’ pensions for 5 per cent of the total pension expenditure in Finland in 2021.
Half of the 2.4 billion euros paid in disability pensions were due to mental disorders. Musculoskeletal diseases were the cause for one fifth (€0.5 bn) of pension expenditure in 2021.
What does the average pension depict?
- The average monthly pension of people who reside in Finland and who get an earnings-related or a national pension.
- The review excludes persons who get a part-time pension, a partial old-age pension or only a survivors’ pension.
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