Finns’ trust in the country’s earnings-related pension system varies according to their perceived social status, analysis by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) has found.

Its study found that trust in the Finnish pension system can be categorised into three distinct groups.

Almost half (46 per cent) were classified as neutral, which indicated a moderate level of trust in the system, but they were neither strongly trusting nor strongly critical of the pension system.

However, 30 per cent were placed in the critical group, which was sceptical about the adequacy of pensions, as well as the sustainability of the pension system.

The final 24 per cent were trusting of the system, found to be confident in the governance and sustainability of the pension system, and had few concerns about its prospects.

ETK found that those who perceived themselves to have a high social status were more likely to view the pension system as trustworthy, fair and clear. They also tended to be more optimistic about pensions providing a reasonable standard of living now and in the future.

Among the respondents, approximately three out of four considered themselves to be in the upper half of the societal status scale. Fewer than one in 10 perceived their social status to be clearly low.

According to ETK senior researcher, Liisa-Maria Palomäki, the results cannot be explained by, for example, a higher income or educational level, but explicitly by social status.

“However, those who perceive their status to be low or fairly low are more often critical towards the pension system. The difference is particularly evident in confidence in the management of pension funds and the functionality of the pension system,” Palomäki stated.

Furthermore, the study found that political orientation along the left–right spectrum had less impact on views about pensions than social status.

Despite this, respondents who identified with the left were more likely to perceive the pension system as unfair and felt that current pensions do not provide pensioners with a reasonable standard of living.

In contrast, those who identified with the right were more concerned about the financial contribution burden placed on younger generations.

Politically, the largest proportion of respondents placed themselves near the centre. Very few placed themselves at the extremes, either clearly to the left or clearly to the right.

“Overall trust in the pension system, the management of pension funds, and the functionality of the system does not vary according to political orientation,” she said.

The study was based on a questionnaire survey conducted by ETk in 2024, with a total of 1,600 working-age respondents.

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