Topical issues

Does poverty in old age develop differently compared to other age groups? Why are women often at a higher risk of poverty than men? Does it matter for perceived income adequacy from which source the income comes from? Join our webinar (Teams) on Monday 14 March to hear more about and to discuss these questions.

In 2021, the Finns retired on an earnings-related pension six months later than in 2020. The average effective retirement age was 62.4 years. Half of this increase can be explained by the rising retirement age and half by the surprisingly big drop in the number of new retirees on a disability pension.

The number of A1 certificates granted for work abroad continued to grow in 2021 but fell short of the pre-pandemic level. The Customer Service of the Finnish Centre for Pensions received many inquiries concerning telecommuting from abroad.

On average, the wages of men increase by 3.4 per cent and of women by 3.0 per cent when changing jobs. Highly educated men benefit the most from job mobility. Women have surpassed men when it comes to the number of job changes.

The social security agreement between Finland and Japan came into force on 1 February 2022. As the agreement now enters into force, workers posted to a Contracting State avoid double pension and un-employment insurance contributions.

Each year, the Finnish Centre for Pensions grants a Pro Gradu Award to a distinguished Master’s thesis. Might your thesis be the next winner of the 2,000 euro award? Apply by 15 March 2022.

Earnings-related survivors’ pensions were reformed as of the beginning of 2022. As a result, both the surviving spouse’s pension and the orphan’s pension were amended. The amendments do not apply to surviving spouses whose spouse passed away before 2022. Tyoelake.fi has introduced a new calculator that can be used to calculate the pension received by the surviving spouse and the orphan(s).

The most common age of claiming the partial old-age pension is 61. When viewed by age cohort, every fifth person entitled to the pension claims it – men more often than women. This is revealed by a recent study conducted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

Some Finnish authorities have ruled that platform workers (for example, food couriers) are employees while others view them as self-employed. The contradictory rulings are unfortunate as it would be important for both platform companies and platform workers to clarify the social security of platform workers. Employees are insured by the employer; the self-employed have to insure themselves.

In 2020, the first-time insured under the earnings-related pension acts numbered 74,000, which is 25 per cent fewer than in 2019. The last time the number of young persons insured for the first time dipped was in the wake of the financial crisis in 2009. The average monthly earnings of Finnish employees in 2020 were …