Topical issues

Work that is found meaningful and perceived to be less hectic and not involving too many changes is linked to late retirement. This is evident from a survey conducted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions that examined the perceptions of persons who retired on an old-age pension between 2019 and 2021.

The Finnish Centre for Pensions estimates that the 2024 earnings-related pension index will grow slightly more than the wage coefficient. As a result, a person who retires on an earnings-related pension before the end of 2023 may receive a slightly higher index increment than a person who retires after the turn of the year. A person who considers claiming a pension should also note the impact of continued work, taxation and Kela benefits on their pension amount.

Sweden proposes that the sharing of electronic information about social security related issues be enhanced and streamlined. Further cooperation would increase cost effectiveness and better protect the social security rights of people moving between the Nordic countries.

Finnish citizens’ trust in the pension system remains high, according to the Pension Barometer conducted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Yet, the confidence has decreased somewhat compared to previous Pension Barometers. Two thirds of the respondents trust the pension system and almost as many think pension assets are managed in a responsible way.

Some EU Member States have signed a framework agreement on cross-border telework. It will enter into force on 1 July 2023. Finland has signed the Agreement. According to the Framework Agreement, an employee habitually working and teleworking in two different EU countries can be insured, under certain conditions, in the country where the statutory seat of their employer is established (instead of in their own country of residence).

Approximately 71,500 people in Finland retired on an earnings-related pension in 2022. This is 10 000 more than in the previous year. Most of the increase came from people retiring on a full old-age pension. Almost 28 billion euros were paid in old-age pensions in Finland in 2022.

The gradual increase of the retirement age agreed on in the 2017 pension reform has considerably raised the employment rate of those approaching their retirement age. At the same time, unemployment and disability retirement have also clearly increased, as revealed by a new study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

The assets of the Finnish earnings-related pension system shrunk in 2022 – investment losses accounted for 14.8 billion euros. Since the dependency ratio is getting increasingly weaker over time as the population ages, improving investment returns is essential. The options include, among others, adjusting the risk level of private sector pension investments by relaxing the related regulations.

In Finland, employers’ views on the appropriate retirement age, that is, their retirement age norms, are higher than in European countries on average. Overall, employers have higher retirement age norms than employees in most countries. This is evident in a fresh study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

The Pro Gradu Award of the Finnish Centre for Pensions has been granted this year to Master of Business Administration Ozan Yanar. In his master’s thesis, he has examined the 2011 guarantee pension reform. Each year, the Finnish Centre for Pensions grants a Pro Gradu Award to a distinguished master’s thesis.