The average total pension in Finland has risen by around 50 per cent in real terms over the past 30 years, according to the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK).

The figures showed that, last year, the average total pension was nearly €2,140 per month, while 30 years earlier it was €1,460 per month.

ETK economist, Juha Rantala, explained that three different groups in Finland drive this average, and their pension levels and trends differ considerably.

The first group is a large, rapidly growing group of pensioners who generally have long working careers behind them, with their pension security based solely on an earnings-related occupational pension.

Secondly, there is a smaller group of pensioners whose income is made up of both an occupational pension and a Kela pension – the national pension and the guaranteed pension – who often have had fragmented and low-paid working lives.

And the third and smallest group consists of pensioners who have no working history at all and rely solely on the national pension or the guaranteed pension.

“I consider it important that the division of labour between the occupational pension and the national pension is also examined using this classification, as the groups differ from one another in terms of size, structure and the level of pension provision,” Rantala said.

He suggested that between 1995 and 2025 significant changes have occurred within these groups.

In particular, he pointed out that the number of people receiving an earnings-related pension alone has increased by almost 1 million people in 30 years.

The number of people receiving both earnings-related and Kela pensions, on the other hand, has decreased by nearly half a million people, and the number of people receiving only a Kela pension has decreased by about 70,000 people.

Rantala added that these changes are also reflected in the groups' shares of all pension recipients, which currently number around 1.6 million.

The share of those receiving an earnings-related pension alone has risen from 5 per cent to 66 per cent, while the share of those receiving both earnings-related and a Kela pension has decreased from 82 per cent to 28 per cent.

Furthermore, the share of those receiving a pension from Kela alone has decreased from 13 per cent to 5 per cent.

At the same time, Rantala noted that the pensioner profile has changed considerably, as pensioners are now older and the number of disability pension recipients is falling significantly.

The figures showed that the proportion of those aged 75 and over and those aged 85 and over has increased significantly. The figures also found that there has been a significant fall in over-50 age groups receiving disability benefits.

The research also highlighted differences in the amount pensions have increased based on the group.

Those in the largest group – those receiving only an occupational pension – had a higher average total pension, at nearly €2,600 per month last year.

Rantala said the real growth in total pension is largely explained by the rise in pensions for the largest group.

However, he explained the growth in pension levels among those receiving only an occupational pension has slowed significantly since the 2010s.

Meanwhile, the research revealed that the smaller groups of pensioners, those receiving both the earnings-related and a Kela pension and those receiving just a Kela pension, have been impacted by pension policy.

Last year, the total pension of both the earnings-related and Kela pension recipients was €1,300 per month on average, about half of the corresponding level for those receiving an earnings-related pension only.

According to Rentala, the development of the total pension in this group is mainly reflected in the gradual removal of the base part of the national pension, which reduced the average total pension until 2001. 

Meanwhile, the average total pension for those only receiving a Kela pension has remained fairly unchanged; it was €960 per month last year. Rentala said the most significant change was the guarantee pension entering into force in 2011, which raised the pension level.

The research also highlighted that retirees are an important group for understanding the development of pensions, as the pension level is determined when a person retires, and the pension level of those who have retired also indicates the level of pensions in the future.

In 2025, the average total pension of those who retired was approximately €2,000 per month, which Rentala said is somewhat lower than the average pension of all pension recipients. 

He explained that until 2017, the total pension of those who retired was higher than this, but since then, the situation has reversed, with the average total pension of retirees being lower than the average pension.

“This development may indicate that the total pensions of younger generations no longer increase from one generation to the next in the same way as in previous decades,” Rentala said.

In conclusion, Rentala said: “The occupational pension is, without a doubt, the most important component of pension provision. However, around one in three pensioners receives a Kela pension in addition to their occupational pension.

“If the focus is placed too heavily on trends in the average pension, the importance of Kela pensions in securing the livelihoods of low-income pensioners may be overlooked.

“After all, the aim of the pension system is not only to ensure a reasonable standard of living in relation to the period prior to retirement, but also to prevent poverty.”

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