According to a survey commissioned by Nordea from Taloustutkimus Oy, more than half of Finns expect their pension to decrease as a result of the national pension reform. 25% think their pension will remain on the current level, and only 5 per cent expect their pension to increase.
- Surprisingly many Finns have already formed an opinion of the impacts of the reform on their pension, although the reform is quite recent and discussions on its repercussions have varied a lot, says Risto Kuoppamäki, a specialist in long-term saving at Nordea.
At present, the pension accrual is around 50 per cent of the salary, and the average pension amounts to approximately 1,500 euros in Finland.
- Many salary earners, especially young temporary workers, can only dream of the 50 per cent, though. There is an actual need for future pensioners to save for their retirement in order to safeguard their standard of living, Risto Kuoppamäki says.
Every fourth respondent believed that their pension would be cut by 100 to 150 euros a month. Every third respondent was not able to assess the cut in euros. Of this group, women account for 40 per cent.
The need for supplementing the statutory pension is increasing
Nearly 90 per cent of Finns consider it necessary to supplement their statutory pension by saving or in some other manner. Despite this, only about half of them have taken action.
- So far Finns are poorly prepared for retaining their standard of living when retired. However, there is a clear change in attitudes now: as a result of the pension reform, about six out of ten intend to be prepared for supplementing their statutory pension with their own savings, Kuoppamäki says.
- It is important that the consequences of the pension reform are discussed, as it is in the common interest of the whole Finnish society that no welfare gap opens between the working and the retired parts of the population, he adds.
Half of Finns intend to continue in working life after they turn 65
Of men, over 20 per cent expect to continue working after they have turned 65, which is clearly more than women do. Three out of ten believe that they will not work up to the age of 65, which is the new minimum old age pension limit. The main reasons for this are their health and work strain.
The pension survey was aimed at finding out how the pension reform has affected Finns' attitudes towards their future pension. The survey was conducted in an Internet panel at the turn of February and March. A total of 1,047 working people aged between 23 and 65 responded to the survey.
For further information:
Risto Kuoppamäki, Savings & Wealth Insights, 050 350 9750
Anni Kuusisto, Group Communications,09 165 42320