Soste: Spending cuts to force 68,000 into poverty

The government has announced spending cuts that will hit social benefits.

Bags of food assistance for those in poverty
Finland has a network distributing food assistance to low-income people in need. Image: Kim Blåfield / Yle
Yle News

The government's plans to cut spending on social benefits will push some 68,000 people into the low-income bracket next year, according to Soste, a confederation of organisations involved in social and healthcare.

Calculations published on Tuesday suggest that some 805,000 people will be defined as low-income in 2024.

Soste says that the increased number of low-income earners would also push up the cost of income support, which is Finland's social benefit of last resort intended to pay for essential outgoings when there is no other source of income.

The report evaluates the effect of spending cuts planned by the government. It defined as low-income anyone whose disposable income is less than 60 percent of the median.

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