Average pension in Finland nearly €2,000
The Finnish average pension developed positively in 2023. At the same time, total pension expenditure increased – pensions were paid out totalling almost 38 billion euros. About 1.6 million Finns received a pension in 2023.
The average monthly pension for Finns in 2023 was 1,977 euros. In 2022, it was 1,845 euros. In 2023, the median monthly pension was 1,736 euros. These data come from the latest joint statistics from the Finnish Centre for Pensions and Kela.
Despite the rising average pension, more than 60 per cent of the pensioners in Finland receive a monthly pension of less than 2,000 euros. They number almost one million. “High pensions are still rare. In 2023, for example, around 2 per cent of pension recipients received a monthly pension of more than 5,000 euros in 2023. Most of them were men”, says Statistics Planner Joonas Hautamäki of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
In 2023, the average monthly pension was 2,216 euros for men and 1,779 euros for women. The gender gap in pensions remained unchanged compared to 2022.
Pension gaps, also for men and women, reflect the person’s working life, the length and career of the pension recipient, and the level of wages.
Number of pensioners stable
The number of pensioners in Finland changed only slightly in 2023. About 1.6 million Finns received a pension last year. Pensioners accounted for 33 per cent of the country’s total population aged 16 and over.
In 72 municipalities, more than half of the population received a pension.
Proportion of disabled fallen sharply
In 2023, 178,000 persons in Finland received a disability pension, just a few per cent less than in 2022.
In the country as a whole, the proportion of people receiving a disability pension has been falling for a longer period. In 2013, just under 7 per cent of people of working age in Finland received a disability pension. In 2023, the share was just over 5 per cent.
Total pension expenditure close to €38 billion
According to provisional data, a total of 37.7 billion euros were paid out in Finland in 2023 in the form of pensions and pension-like benefits. Expenditure on statutory pensions amounted to 37.1 billion euros.
Of the pensions paid, 34.1 billion euros were earnings-related pensions. Kela paid 2.6 billion euros in national and guarantee pensions.
Almost 90 per cent of the pensions paid were old-age pensions.
What is the average pension?
The average pension is the average total pension of pension recipients living in Finland. It includes the earnings-related pension, the national pension, comparable special pensions and the guarantee pension received by the recipient.
The data exclude persons who receive a part-time pension, a partial old-age pension or only a survivors’ pension.
Pension income is in gross amounts.
The data are based on joint statistics from the Finnish Centre for Pensions and Kela.
Read more
- Statistics on pensioners in Finland (etk.fi statistics webpage)
- Total expenditure on pensions (etk.fi statistics webpage)
- Pension calculator (tyoelake.fi)
