The number of younger old-age pension recipients living in Finland has decreased sharply, from approximately 108,000 people under 65 receiving an old-age pension in 2017 to 20,000 in 2025, according to research from Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) and Kela.

ETK statistics expert, Joonas Hautamäki, explained that the reason for this change is primarily due to the increase in retirement age.

The research showed that at the end of 2025, earnings-related and national pensions were paid to 1,607,000 persons residing in Finland, with most of these pensions being old-age pensions, paid mainly to recipients aged 65 or older.

Despite this fall in younger-old age recipients, the data showed that the average monthly pension for those living in Finland has increased from €2,100 in 2024 to €2,138 in 2025.

However, just over half of those living in Finland received less than €2,000 per month in 2025.

The findings also revealed a gender gap in the amount of pension received in 2025, as 62 per cent of women received a pension of less than €2,000 per month, compared to 46 per cent of men.

Overall, in 2025, the average monthly pension for women was €1,930 and €2,388 for men.

Meanwhile, of the pensioners living in Finland who receive a monthly gross pension exceeding €4,000, approximately 10 per cent of these are men, while about 3 per cent are women. And just over 1 per cent received a monthly pension of over €6,000, with the majority being men.

In regional terms, as in previous years, the highest average monthly pensions were paid in Uusimaa, while the smallest average monthly pensions were paid in Southern Ostrobothnia.

And of all Finns aged 16 or above, nearly one-third received some form of pension in 2025.

The research also found that a total of €39.8bn in earnings-related pensions and Kela pensions was paid out in 2025. This consisted of €37.2bn in earnings-related pensions paid by earnings-related pension providers and €2.6bn in national and guaranteed pensions paid by Kela.

Old-age pensions accounted for 87 per cent of the total pension expenditure in Finland in 2025, disability pensions accounted for 7 per cent and survivors’ pensions for 5 per cent.

For the first time, the statistics include data on all recipients of statutory pensions, as both those who received only a guaranteed pension or a special provision pension were included.

In 2025, around 120,000 people received a guaranteed pension, and around 3,000 of them received only a guaranteed pension. Half of retirees under age 60 received a guaranteed pension.

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