The number of people who began their work insured under the Finnish earnings-related pensions acts for the first time increased by 25 per cent in 2021 to 95,000, the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) has revealed.

The 25 per cent increase was compared to 2020 levels and represents nearly a return to pre-Covid levels.

At the end of 2021, almost 2.5 million people were working and insured for an earnings-related pension, with around 1.8 million of them in the private sector and 700,000 in the public sector.

Most newly pensioned people were aged under 20 who were at the beginning of their working life.

“In 2020, the corona pandemic hit hard on sectors employing young people,” commented ETK statistics manager, Tiina Palotie-Heino.

“However, it would seem that the slump quickly straightened itself.”

Last year also appeared to be more positive than 2020 in terms of pension benefits for unsalaried period, with unemployment benefits paid to 660,000 people, down by more than 200,000 from 2020.

The average monthly earnings of Finnish employees in 2021 was €3,200, according to ETK.

The gender gap in wages remained unchanged, with men’s average pension-insured earnings (€3,600 a month) €800 higher than women’s (€2,800/month).

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