Last year the average age of retirement in Finland was 61.2 years, several months later than the previous year’s figure of 60.9 years.
People are sticking it out longer on the job since new rules make it harder to qualify for disability pensions, and as they are generally remaining in good health later in life. Last year some 70,000 people began collecting wage-based pensions.
“The majority, more than 70 percent, of persons retiring on an earnings-related pension retired directly on an old-age pension,” says Jari Kannisto, Development Manager at the Finnish Centre for Pensions. “The proportion of people retiring on old-age pensions has grown pronouncedly in the last few years. For example, in 2008, less than half of the new retirees retired on an old-age pension,” he notes.
Six out of 10 work past 55
Meanwhile more older citizens are still working. Within just over a decade, the employment rate of those aged 55 or above has climbed by 10 percentage points to around 60 percent.
“Despite the economic situation, the employment rate of the elderly has developed favourably,” says Kannisto. “In recent years, the employment rate of individuals aged 60 and above, in particular, has increased briskly.”
The Finnish Centre for Pensions operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.