Topical issues

The social security agreement between Finland and Japan will enter into force on 1 February 2022. Ville Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and Takashi Murata, Japan’s Ambassador to Finland, exchanged notes on 25 November to bring the bilateral agreement into force. When the agreement enters into force, workers posted to a Contracting State will avoid double pension and unemployment insurance contributions.

Two of three pension recipients find it somewhat easy to cover everyday expenses. However, according to a fresh study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, one in ten reported great financial strain.

The renewed Pension Indicators offers an up-to-date perspective on the current status of Finnish pensions and on their realised and predicted development for those interested in pension policy. This new version of the publication is more illustrative and graphic than previous ones.

This year, Finland ranked seventh in the international Global Pension Index comparison. Although the country’s overall index value rose from 2020, Finland dropped two notches as Iceland and Norway passed it on the score board. Once again, the Finnish pension system was ranked the most transparent and reliable pension system in the world.

Mental disorders are a major cause of disability among working-age people in Finland and the other Nordic countries. What are the similarities and differences and what can we learn from each other to support mental health and work ability? Join our webinar on Monday 8 November.

Since early September, Sweden has paid an income pension complement to pensioners with a small pension. In the future, those who have worked in Sweden do not have to claim the complement separately; instead, the right to the complement will be checked automatically when handling pension claims.

Allan Paldanius, M.Sc. (Mathematics), has been appointed Director of Research, Statistics and Planning and member of the Management Group of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

A fresh international evaluation of the Finnish pension system finds that the system efficiently alleviates poverty and provides a reasonable income for pensioners. Nevertheless, the system will face a financing challenge that must be addressed in due time, by either raising pension contributions or strengthening the adjustment mechanisms.

An international and independent evaluation of the Finnish pension system commisioned by the Finnish Centre for Pensions and conducted by the distinguished pension expert Professor Torben M. Andersen (Aarhus University) is now completed. Prof. Andersen will present the results of his work at a webinar hosted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

At our next research webinar at the Finnish Centre for Pensions, we will discuss how working life appears in recent research. Is the future and development of working life as unstable as claimed? Join our research webinar on Monday 13 September.