The number of people taking up partial old-age pension has been increasing, and the proportion of those taking up the pension within their age group has risen significantly in the last few years. This study examines those who took a partial old-age pension early between 2020 and 2023, when it was possible to start at age 61.

In 2020 and 2021, around 12,000 people started receiving a partial old-age pension, but this number rose to just over 30,000 in 2022. In 2023, just under 20,000 people started their partial old-age pension.

“The high popularity of the partial old-age pension in 2022 was influenced by an unusually large increase in the earnings-related pension index in 2023. This increase benefited those who started their pension at the beginning of 2023. The significant number of people taking up the partial old-age pension has attracted a lot of media attention, which has raised awareness of this pension benefit”, explains economist Satu Nivalainen from the Finnish Centre for Pension.

The unusually large increase in the earnings-related pension index at the beginning of 2024 also boosted interest in the partial old-age pension for the previous year.

The minimum age for receiving a partial old-age pension will gradually rise to 62 for those born in 1964 and later. According to Nivalainen, it is difficult to predict how the increase in the age limit will affect the take-up of this pension benefit.

Men, unemployed persons, and the self-employed are more likely to start taking a partial old-age pension

Men are more likely than women to take out a partial old-age pension. In addition, people who have experienced unemployment, the self-employed and those with long careers are more likely to take out this pension benefit. Most of those who have opted for a partial old-age pension work in the private rather than the public sector. They start at age 61, when it becomes possible.

“Although the popularity of partial old-age pensions has increased significantly in recent years, the characteristics of those who choose this pension remain similar to those observed between 2017 and 2020.”

Partial pensions more common in higher unemployment areas and Northern Finland

Around four out of five people who received a partial old-age pension were still working at the end of the year before they started getting the pension. Unemployment is the reason for 20-30 per cent of all new pensions, and it is slightly more common among men than women.

People in areas where there is more unemployment and in Northern Finland tend to take early retirement more often.

“In particular, men living in regions with higher unemployment are more likely to take up a partial old-age pension than in other regions. But for women, the local unemployment rate does not affect the decision to take the pension”, Nivalainen says.

Research publication: Characteristics of partial old-age pension recipients 2020-2023