The number of pensioners in Finland is growing steadily. Today there are 1.4 million pensioners in Suomi, the total population of the country is 5.5 million people. There is a skew in the state when there are more and more pensioners, and fewer working Finns. For this reason, a reform was carried out to extend the retirement age, which today is 65 years. If this measure does not allow maintaining the balance between workers and pensioners, then another increase in the retirement age is possible.
Pensions in Finland
By world standards, retirement living in Finland is decent. Suomi ranks high in rankings assessing the economic well-being of older people around the world.
Many Finnish pensioners are happy with life, they travel and make purchases. But the coin also has a flip side. It is known that 6% of Finnish pensioners live below the poverty line. A person who has an income of less than 1,200 euros is considered poor in Suomi.
Do they pay tax on pensions in Finland? In Suomi, tax is withheld from pension accruals. The tax rate is calculated on a progressive scale, that is, the higher the payments, the higher the tax. However, its value cannot exceed 22%.
In Finland, women retire at the same age as men at 65. But the amount of pension benefits for men is higher (1871€) than for women (1241€). This is explained by the fact that men often work in higher paid positions and have longer work experience. In Suomi, you are allowed not to retire at age 65, but by staying at your job until age 68 to increase your pension savings.
Finland provides pension benefits for pensioners without family support and for those whose pension is too low. Often, assistance is allocated to pay monthly rent; the amount of additional payment is individual and depends on various aspects. The main condition is that after paying the mandatory payments, the pensioner has 500 euros left to live on.
Another benefit is a 50% discount on travel on public transport and railway transport on internal lines. Pensioners also receive discounts on visiting theaters, cultural events, and sports clubs.
Features of pensions in Finland
If a Finnish pensioner also receives a pension in Russia, then the Finnish payment will be reduced by the Russian share. It is quite possible to transfer a pension to Finland from the Russian Federation; to do this, you need to submit an application to the Russian Pension Fund, which deals with pension issues for citizens living abroad.
A pension in Finland for Russian citizens is possible after five years of residence in the country. If a Russian citizen worked in Finland for a certain time and then returned to his homeland, then he also has the right to a Finnish pension.
The amount of the labor pension in Finland depends on what salary the citizen had. Examples of pensions:
- nurse – 1800 euros;
- secretary – 1600 euros;
- doctor – 4500 euros;
- teacher – 2160 euros;
- professor – 4300 euros.
To obtain the right to a full national pension, you must have worked or lived in Finnish territory for at least 40 years after reaching your 16th birthday.
The second type of Finnish pension is the national pension. This auxiliary pension can be received not only by Finns, but also by foreigners who have lived in the country for 3 to 5 years. The maximum amount of the national pension is 634€. But only those who do not have a work pension at all will receive such a pension in full in Finland. If a person has earned even 100€ of labor pension, then the amount of the national pension will be less.
If the calculation of the labor and national pension in Finland gives an amount of less than 760 €, then the state will also support the pensioner with a guarantee pension. This type of pension must reach the pensioner’s income up to the minimum pension of 766.85 €.
Many people thinking about moving to Europe are interested in what pensions are like in Finland and Sweden? The average pension in Sweden is €1,590. The average pension in Finland in euros is €1,716. Pensions in Finland are among the ten highest in Europe.
Pension insurance in Finland
All employees and self-employed citizens are involved in the Finnish state pension system. This system consists of two parts:
- Pension savings in Finland, where the size of the pension is directly related to the size of the salary.
- National pension system, providing a national pension, the amount of which depends on the length of stay in the country.
Voluntary pension insurance also exists in Finland. A special fund is created in a bank or insurance company, where citizens contribute the amounts they deem necessary. Voluntary pension savings are a supplement to the state pension.
Pensions in Finland have an important purpose for the country’s economy. The amount of reserves concentrated within this system reaches half of Suomi’s gross domestic product.
The life of pensioners in Finland is secure due to the fact that pensions received from various sources are integrated with each other and bring the size of the pension benefit to a decent level.