Topical issues

Maarit Selin (M.Sc.) has been appointed Director of Information Management and member of the Management Group as of 1 March 2024. She will be responsible for the register services and information management at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

At year-end 2022, every fifth under-68-year-old pensioner worked. That means 70,000 persons, of whom 40,000 were drawing an old-age pension. At year-end 2022, there were a total of 380,000 earnings-related pension recipients under the age of 68 years in Finland. The data stems from recent statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

In 2022, the median insured monthly earnings of employees were 3,000 euros. For the self-employed and farmers, the median monthly insured incomes were 1,350 euros. The largest earnings were received by those in the age group 45–49 years, recent statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions reveal.

Despite the shortage of skilled workers in Finland, the country’s Government makes it difficult for (labour) immigrants to enter the country, get permanent residence and citizenship, argues Senior Researcher Pasi Saukkonen (Urban Research and Statistics Unit of the City of Helsinki). More important than the number of immigrants is their successful integration, but the Finnish Government’s cuts in social security and required resources for integration affects integration unfavourably, Saukkonen argues.

The newly-published Suomi.fi guide Recruiting an Employee provides advice on recruiting a new employee, from mapping options and selecting the new employee to organising proper initiation. The Finnish Centre for Pensions has taken part in designing and creating the guide.

Rehabilitees participating in work trials under the earnings-related pension scheme have fairly positive experiences of rehabilitation planning and cooperation with, for example, occupational health care or the employer. Issues to develop include individual support, timing of rehabilitation and discussions on the possibilities of employment after the work trial. This is evident in a survey by the Finnish Centre for Pensions that is based on interviews of rehabilitees participating in work trials.

Half of the newly retired old-age pensioners are interested in working in retirement. According to a survey conducted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, most persons who have worked in retirement have continued working for the same employer and with similar tasks. The work is often irregular and occasional.

Last year, nearly 71,500 persons retired on an earnings-related pension. Nearly 54,000 of them retired on an old-age pension. The largest birth cohort retiring on an old-age pension were the 64-year-olds, reveals fresh statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

The Ministry for Social Affair and Health has confirmed the life expectancy coefficient for 2024. The coefficient will reduce starting pensions by 5.3 per cent, which is less than in 2023. The lower life expectancy coefficient is due to high mortality during the corona pandemic.

As of 31 October 2023, personal customers who use the Suomi.fi Messages service will receive the A1 certificate granted to them by the Finnish Centre for Pensions via that service.