The Pension System in Finland: Adequacy, Sustainability and System Design


January 2013

The pension system in Finland

Finland has a pension system that, in a unique way, combines a compulsory legislative basis, similar benefits for all, partial funding and private organization of the pension provision. It is a hybrid, fulfilling the functions of first and second pillar pensions within the same scheme. The main pension scheme is a legislated and compulsory earnings-related scheme, which is supplemented by the residence-based, flat-rate pension scheme.

In order to get a fresh international view of the Finnish pension system, the Finnish Centre for Pensions decided in 2011 to commission an independent evaluation study of the Finnish pension scheme. The purpose of the evaluation was to get a forward-looking external view of the Finnish pension system from an international perspective, including recommendations.