Pension Applications
Disability pension decisions in 2024
In 2024, a total of 22,800 new disability pension decisions were issued within the earnings-related pension system. This was about 1 per cent more than in 2023. Around 40.3 per cent of the decisions were rejections. Compared to 2023, the rejection rate grew by nearly 3 percentage points. The number of issued disability pension decisions has remained fairly stable in recent years. The share of rejections has been on the rise for a long time.
The rejection rate of disability pension applications varies by age group. The number of cases is higher for the older age groups. In 2024, the number of issued disability pension decisions for persons aged 60 and over was clearly on the upswing compared to those for other age groups.
The number of disability pension decisions issued for persons under the age of 35 has increased somewhat in the last 10 years. On the other hand, a larger proportion of claims are also rejected. In 2024 in Finland, 56 per cent of the disability pension claims from persons under age 35 were rejected. A clear majority (76%) of the claims in this age group were related to mental and behavioral disorders.
For those aged 60 or over, both the number of claims and the rejection percentage has increased over the last 10 years. The increase in the number of claims is partly due to the 2017 pension reform. The reform increased the qualifying age of the old-age pension and, by extension, the age until when it is possible to draw a disability pension. In 2024 in Finland, 18 per cent of the disability pension applications from persons aged 60 or more were rejected. Nearly half of disability pension applications for persons aged 60 or over were related to musculoskeletal disorders. Mental and behavioural disorders were the second most common cause (14%).
(Updated on 30 January 2025)
Average total processing times for earnings-related pension applications in 2024
Table:
In 2024, disability pension claims were processed by earnings-related pension providers in 43 days on average. The average processing time for full old-age pension claims was 5 days, and for partial old-age pension claims, 2 days. On average, survivors’ pensions claims were processed in 9 days.
Compared to 2023, there were small changes in processing times in 2024. Survivors’ pension claims were processed two days faster, on average, and claims for full old-age pensions one day faster. Disability pension claims, on the other hand, were processed two days slower, on average.
(Updated on 30 January 2025)
Statistical tables:
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Pension applications
Producer: Finnish Centre for Pensions
Website: Pension applications
Subject area: Social security
Part of the Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): No
Description
The statistics contain data on earnings-related pension providers’ average processing times for earnings-related pension applications. They also includes data on disability pension application decisions.
Data content
The statistics contain data on the average total processing times for earnings-related pension applications, by pension benefit. They also include data on the share of applications processed in less than three months.
Regarding disability pension decisions, the statistics present numerical data on granted and rejected applications, as well as onthe share of rejected applications.
Classifications
The data on processing times have been classified according to sector of work and pension benefit.
Disability pension decisions have been classified according to gender, age and main disease.
Methods of data collection and source
The statistics is based on the registers of the earnings-related pension system.
Update frequency
The data is updated once a year.
Time of completion or release
The data is released at the beginning of the year following the statistical year. For a more detailed schedule, consult the Release Calendar.
Time series
The first earnings-related pension application data is from the year 2005.
Key words
earnings-related pensions, disability pensions, earnings-related pension applications, processing time
Concepts and Definitions
The total processing time
The total processing time is the time that begins on the date on which the application has been received and ends on the date on which the pension provider has issued its decision.
The processing times are for national pension applications.
The processing times for disability pensions do not include applications for continued pension.
Disability pension decisions
The disability pension decisions are for new applications. This means that the applicant has neither received a disability pension nor a rejected or a preliminary pension decision in four years before this application.
Private-sector pension providers include earnings-related pension insurance companies, industry-wide and company pension funds. Keva manages the majority of all public sector pension matters.
The main disease category classification used in disability pension decisions is the IDC-10 classification of diseases.
1. Contact
1.1 Contact organisation
Finnish Centre for Pensions
1.2 Contact organisation unit
Planning Department
1.3 Contact name
1.4 Contact person function
Statistical expert
1.5 Contact mail address
Finnish Centre for Pensions
FI-00065 ELÄKETURVAKESKUS
Finland
1.6 Contact email address
firstname.lastname@etk.fi
Contact form
1.7 Contact phone number
+358 29 411 20
1.8 Contact fax number
Fax: +358 9 148 1172
2. Metadata update
2.1. Metadata last certified
30 January 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 January 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 January 2025
3. Statistical presentation
3.1. Data description
The statistics contains data on earnings-related pension providers’ processing times for earnings-related pension applications. It also includes data on disability pension application decisions.
3.2. Classification system
Disability pension decisions have been classified according to sector of work, gender, age and main disease. The main disease categories follow the IDC-10 classification of diseases.
The data on average processing times have been classified according to sector of work and pension benefit.
3.3. Sector coverage
The statistics contains data on all persons who have applied for a pension from the Finnish earnings-related pension system.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The concepts and definitions have been presented on the statistics page.
3.5. Statistical unit
Pension application
3.6. Statistical population
Persons who have applied for a pension from the Finnish earnings-related pension system
3.7. Reference area
Finland
3.8. Time coverage
The statistics has been compiled since 2017. The time series has been produced in retrospect as of the statistical year 2005.
4. Unit of measure
Data on disability pension decisions: number of decisions
The proportion of rejected decisions among the number of applications processed: %
Processing time: days
5. Reference period
Calendar year
6. Institutional mandate
6.1. Legal acts and other agreements
The Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions states that the Finnish Centre for Pensions is responsible for statistical activities within its field of competence.
7. Confidentiality
7.1. Confidentiality – policy
The Finnish Centre for Pensions is committed to data protection as a fundamental principle of statistics, which ensures the confidentiality of data.
7.2. Confidentiality – data treatment
Data is protected by the necessary physical and technical solutions at the various stages of processing. Personnel have access only to the data necessary for their work. Third parties do not have access to the premises where the data is processed. Employees signed a confidentiality agreement when they were hired.
8. Release Policy
The statistics of the Finnish Centre for Pensions are released on weekdays at 9.00 a.m. local time on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Any exceptions to the release time are announced separately.
The data in the statistical database are released as open data. The database’s open interface can be freely used under the CC BY 4.0 licence when the Finnish Centre for Pensions is cited as the source of the statistical data.
8.1. Release Calendar
The release dates of the statistics are published in the release calendar. The release calendar for the following year is published towards the end of the year.
8.2. Release calendar access
8.3. User access
The statistics are available to everyone when they are published on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions at a previously announced date.
Embargo policy: Media that are bound by the journalist’s guidelines may request material from the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ Communications Department.
Communications’ contact details
9. Frequency of dissemination
The statistics are published once a year.
10. Accessibility and clarity
10.1. News release
The releases of the statistics can be found in the shared open repository Julkari:
10.2. Publications
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10.3. Online database
10.4. Microdata access
The Finnish Centre for Pensions’ registry data can be requested for scientific research use.
Register data can be used for research purposes in accordance with the Publicity Act, Data Protection Act, and the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data (hereinafter Act on Secondary Use), even though individual-level data is confidential. The research must be individualized and scientific and based on a research plan. Register data are not disclosed for commercial purposes.
Apply for research access to register data of the Finnish Centre for Pensions
11. Quality Management
11.1. Quality assurance
The Finnish Centre for Pensions is committed to the quality principles of Official Statistics of Finland. Our statistical production follows the quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland, which are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice.
11.2. Quality assessment
The quality of the statistics is assessed at several stages in the statistical process.
12. Relevance
12.1. User needs
Feedback from users is gathered through customer surveys. Feedback is also collected through direct contact. The feedback received is monitored and considered when developing the statistics.
13. Accuracy and reliability
13.1. Overall accuracy
The data is based on operational registers which include data on a person’s pension entitlements.
14. Timeliness and punctuality
14.1. Timeliness
The data of the statistics is released in January of the year following the statistical year.
15. Coherence and comparability
15.1. Comparability – geographical
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15.2. Comparability – over time
The statistics has been released since 2017. The time series has been produced in retrospect as of the statistical year 2005. The time series is comparable accross the entire period covered by the statistics.
16. Cost and burden
The production of the statistics is financed annually by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
17. Data Revision
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18. Statistical processing
18.1. Source data
The statistics is based on the registers of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
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18.3. Data collection
Administrative registers.
18.4. Data validation
Adjustments are made at different stages of statistical production in accordance with the production processes of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. In addition, the results are compared with changes in legislation and with data from previous statistical years.
18.5. Data compilation
The data is extracted from the registers of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Further processing produces aggregated data and statistical tables.