Fewer Finns trust their pensions will support them

By admin On Jul 1, 2025

Only 5 percent of respondents now believe they will manage well on their pension income. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva

Confidence in the adequacy of pensions has declined sharply among Finns, according to the latest Eläkebarometri survey published by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK).

Only 5 percent of respondents now believe they will manage well on their pension income. Last year, 20 percent held that view.

A quarter of all respondents said they expect their retirement income to be poor or quite poor.

The change follows a shift in survey methodology from phone interviews to an online panel, making direct comparison with past results limited.

The results show clear demographic divides. Women expressed more concern than men about their pension outlook. Among people under 30, pessimism was also more widespread.

Susan Kuivalainen, head of research at ETK, said uncertainty dominates the results. “There are fewer strong opinions than before,” she stated in a press release. “Global political and economic instability and the public debate on pension reform may have influenced these assessments.”

Despite the decline in confidence, around half of the respondents still trust the Finnish pension system. However, the number of people without a clear opinion on the matter increased.

This year’s survey also included questions on the pension reform agreed in January. The reform allows pension companies to take more risks when investing pension funds, shifting a greater share towards equities in pursuit of higher returns.

The reform received overall positive feedback. More than half of respondents rated the changes at least somewhat positively. Fewer than 10 percent responded critically.

Sanna Tenhunen, economist at ETK, said older respondents were more often supportive of the reform. “But even among those under 35, 45 percent rated the reform positively,” she said.

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi