The expected duration of active working life in Finland has increased more than life expectancy, analysis by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) has found.

Its analysis of the labour years ratio found that the expected duration of active working life has risen by 3.3 years and life expectancy by 2.9 years, between 2005 and 2023.

ETK is responsible for assessing the labour years ratio, which was introduced in the 2017 earnings-related pension reform, as a way to monitor the link between working lives and life expectancy.

Every five years, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health assesses the development of working lives and the economic and social sustainability of the Finnish earnings-related pension system.

According to ETK, the labour years ratio is 0.60 in 2024; for men, the ratio is 0.63 and for women 0.57. The 2024 labour years ratio has been calculated based on the figures for 2019–2023.

Commenting, ETK statistics researcher, Jukka Lampi, said: “The labour years ratio basically means that today’s 18-year-old men spend 63 per cent of their remaining life working. For women, the corresponding figure is 57 per cent.”

The labour years ratio is the ratio between the five-year average expected duration of active working life and the five-year average life expectancy of an 18-year-old.

Explaining the purpose of the working lives ratio, ETK statistics manager, Tiina Palotie-Heino, said: “One of the goals of the 2017 pension reform is that working lives will grow in the same proportion as lifespans and, as a result, that people will defer retirement.

“One way to assess this development is to measure the labour years ratio. It can be used to assess the state of the earnings-related pension system in support of decision-making.”

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