Pension Barometer: Most Finns oppose pension cuts – half trust the pension system
Two thirds of Finns oppose cuts to current or future pensions as a way to improve pension funding. Half of respondents to the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ most recent Pension Barometer say they trust the pension system.
Views on reducing pensions vary clearly by age. On average, people under 45 are more willing than those aged 45 and over to accept cuts to current and future pensions.
Of the measures proposed to improve pension funding, increasing work-based immigration to boost employment received the strongest support. Just over 40 per cent of respondents considered it at least a fairly good measure.
Around a quarter of respondents consider raising the retirement age to be a fairly good or good measure. Just over half think that raising the retirement age is a poor way to improve pension funding.
Just over a quarter of respondents are in favour of raising the pension contributions paid by employees and employers. However, 40 per cent do not support this option.
“The most popular measures to improve pension funding are those that do not directly affect people’s own finances. Most respondents oppose reducing pensions and raising the retirement age”, says economist Sanna Tenhunen from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Half trust the pension system
Half of Finns trust the pension system, and nearly as many think that pension assets are managed in a reliable way. Trust remains at the same level as in last year’s survey.
Just over a quarter of respondents believe that pensions will provide a reasonable income in future. Just over a third believe that pensions will continue to be paid in future.
Compared with previous surveys, fewer people believe that pensions will provide a reasonable income in future or that pensions will continue to be paid in future.
“General uncertainty about the future, together with economic and employment trends, is likely to affect how reliable people perceive the pension system to be. Even so, the survey shows that older respondents have greater confidence in the pension system”, says Susan Kuivalainen, Head of Research at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
More than half of Finns approve of the pension reform
Just over half of respondents say the 2025 pension reform is very or fairly good, while fewer than one in ten consider it very or fairly poor. These figures are unchanged from 2025.
More than 1,000 Finns aged 18 and over responded to the survey in March 2026. This year, as in 2025, the survey was conducted using an online panel.
Pension Barometer
The Finnish Centre for Pensions’ survey examines Finns’ views on pension knowledge, trust in the pension system and income in retirement.
The Pension Barometer has been published since 2017.
