Three in four new old-age pension recipients have accrued pension while receiving social security benefits
Paid work is the main basis for pension accrual, but most people in Finland also accrue pension while receiving social security benefits. Pension accrued from these benefits is particularly important for people on low incomes.
According to statistics from the Finnish Centre for Pensions, 76 per cent of those who retired on an old-age pension in 2025 had accrued pension while receiving social security benefits.
The social security benefits from which pension accrues include unemployment, family leave and sickness benefits. Unemployment benefits account for the largest share: more than half of the pension accrued while receiving social security benefits is based on unemployment benefits.
Among those who retired on an old-age pension in 2025, the pension accrued while receiving social security benefits averaged 43 euros a month. Pension accrued during periods of unemployment averaged 30 euros a month.
Last year, 52,000 people retired on an old-age pension. Many had accrued pension from more than one type of social security benefit. Of the new retirees, 42 per cent had accrued pension from unemployment benefits, 9 per cent from completing a degree and 60 per cent from other social security benefits.
Breakdown of pension accrual components among all those who retired on an old-age pension in 2025
| All persons / Penson accrual basis | Number of persons | Share, %* |
|---|---|---|
| New retirees, total** | 52,178 | 100 |
| Pension accrued while receiving social security benefits | 39,454 | 76 |
| – while receiving unemployment benefits | 21,905 | 42 |
| – for completing a degree | 4,461 | 9 |
| – while receiving other social security benefits | 31,302 | 60 |
** A person may have accrued pension from more than one type of social security benefit.
Pension accrued while receiving social security benefits is particularly important for people on low incomes. For this group, it accounted for 12 per cent of their total pension.
Projected pension component particularly important for disability pension recipients
The projected pension component plays an important role for people transferring from a disability pension to an old-age pension.
“If a person’s working life ends because of disability before they reach their retirement age, a projected pension component is added to their earnings-related pension. This represents part of the pension that they would probably have accrued if they had continued working until their retirement age”, says Jukka Lampi, Statistics Researcher at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Among those who transferred from a full disability pension to an old-age pension in 2025, the projected pension component accounted for almost half of the pension accrued since 2004.
The corresponding share among those who transferred from a partial disability pension was 29 per cent.
For people on low incomes, the projected pension component accounts for around 15 per cent of their total pension.
The average pension of those who retired after receiving additional days of unemployment benefits was 1,419 euros a month, considerably lower than that of people who retired directly on an old-age pension. Pension accrued during periods of unemployment made a substantial contribution, averaging 168 euros a month.
Almost half retired directly from work on an old-age pension
Almost half (47%) of those who retired on an old-age pension in 2025 did so directly from work. One third transferred from a partial old-age pension and around one fifth from a disability pension.
Breakdown of pension accrual components among all those who retired directly from work on an old-age pension in 2025
| Retired directly from work on an old-age pension/accrual component | Number of persons | Share, %* |
|---|---|---|
| Retired directly on an old-age pension, total** | 25,299 | 100 |
| Pension accrued while receiving social security benefits | 17,046 | 67 |
| – while receiving unemployment benefits | 9,524 | 38 |
| – for completing a degree | 2,234 | 9 |
| – while receiving other social security benefits | 12,577 | 50 |
** A person may have accrued pension from more than one type of social security benefit.
The proportion of people transferring from a partial old-age pension to a full old-age pension has risen sharply in recent years. In 2025, their average old-age pension was 2,234 euros per month, over 200 euros more than the average pension of those who retired directly from work.
The statistical analysis by the Finnish Centre for Pensions covers pension accrued between 2005 and 2024.
