More than 90 per cent of Finns somewhat or fully agreed that it was important for them to be financially independent of their relatives in retirement, according to The Generation Barometer in collaboration with the Finnish Pension Alliance (Tela).

The barometer, produced by E2 Research in collaboration with the Miina Sillanpää Foundation and Tela, examined Finns' thoughts on retirement and ageing.

The study revealed that the readings for attitudes on financial independence were similar in all age groups.

Tela CEO, Suvi-Anne Siimes, said the result of the barometer highlighted the importance of maintaining and developing statutory earnings-related pension provision, as its purpose is to enable a reasonable level of consumption to be maintained when retiring on an earnings-related pension, allowing pensioners to “live their own lives also in financial term”.

She added: "Taking care of the tools for economic growth and ensuring that younger generations are integrated into working life is necessary so that there is also enough work for the younger generations to accumulate their own earnings-related pension.

“In this way, they will also be able to gain financial independence when they retire in the future.”

The barometer also asked respondents about their thoughts on retirement and ageing, to which they responded that enjoying life, time for hobbies, meaningful activities, and rewarding time with loved ones were the positives.

However, concerns were raised about difficulties in making ends meet, financial dependence on others, access to treatment, weakened functional capacity, and loss of self-determination.

Financial dependency and problems with making ends meet were more common among working-age individuals, with over one-third experiencing these issues.

Meanwhile, this concern was lower for retirees, with below 20 per cent saying the same.

Siimes said that this could indicate that people are worried about their livelihood during their working lives, but when they retire, many find that the earnings-related pension provides a reasonable income for their retirement years.

Furthermore, the barometer found that 43 per cent were confident that the next generations would be ready to finance pensions in their turn, although confidence was higher among those who had already reached retirement age.

Siimes said the results of the barometer were similar to a pension survey conducted by Tela last autumn, which found that 30 per cent of working-age respondents believed the new generations would finance pensions in turn.

However, the results also revealed that nearly 70 per cent of respondents aged over 75 believed this.

"The distributions certainly reflect the wider concern for the future at this time. And, of course, the fact that economic growth has been in decline for a long time,” Siimes said.

---