Despite recent efforts to equalize the treatment of men and women in the pension system design in many countries, the gender gap in pensions persists. This gap contributes to old-age income inequality in Europe and beyond. The interplay of pension and family policies has a major impact on mitigating the gender gap in pensions.

1. Gender Differences
in Pensions in Finland
May 2018

2. 2FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
55% of Pensioners are Women
Share of men growing faster due to their faster
increasing life expectancy
*pensioners in their own right (excl. pensioners on a part-time and partial old-age pension)
Pensioners* in 1995 and 2017, by gender

3. Gender Difference in Average Pension: 21%
3FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
Average monthly total pension* in 2017
*pensioners in their own right (excl. pensioners on a part-time or partial old-age pension)

4. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
%
Gender Differences Declined Slowly
Women’s average total pension* relative to men’s 1995-2017
4FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
*pensioners in their own right (excl. pensioners on a part-time or partial old-age pension)
Gender differences have
stagnated over the past
ten years

5. Earnings-related Pensions Increasingly
Important for Women
5FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
Level and structure of total pension in 2002–2017
National and
survivors’ pensions
still important
pension income
for women
Earnings-related
pensions up
59% for women,
32% for men
MEN WOMEN
0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
1.400
1.600
1.800
2.000
02 07 12 17 02 07 12 17
earnings-related pensions national pensions survivors' pensions
€/month

6. Women’s Pensions Located Mainly
at Lower End of Distribution
6FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
The majority of those
whose monthly pension
income is less than
€1,250 are women
The dispersion in men’s
pensions is clearly
greater than in
women’s
Distribution of total pension received in one’s own
right of persons living in Finland 2017
The graph does not include pension recipients who get
a part-time pension or a partial old-age pension.

7. Same pension rules
for both genders
Gender differences in pensions
stem from differences
in lengths of working life and earnings

8. Gender Difference in
Length of Working Life: 1.5 years
8FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
* time covered by the earnings-related pension scheme
Unequal division of family-related
care contributes to shorter working
lives for women
MEN
37 yrs 7 mos
WOMEN
36 yrs 2 mos
The median length of working life* for new pensioners in 2016
90.5% of all parental leave
days are held by women
(Source: Kela 2018)

9. Pension for Periods of Parenting Leave
Earnings-related pensions accrue also for maternity,
paternity and parental leaves as well as for caring for
one’s own child under the age of 3 (since 2005)
Extended periods of parental leaves lower the pension
amount (compared to that of continuous careers)
9FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
€
months
Accrued pension while working or while being on parenting leaves
based on monthly wages of 2,400 €
while
working
while on
parenting
leaves

10. Wide Gender Gap in Earnings Leads
to Gap in Pensions
10FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS
Women’s average monthly
earnings relative to men’s
earnings
Women’s wages relative to men’s wages
when comparing earnings from
work that have been insured
for an earnings-related pension
for all women and men
when comparing regular wages for full-
time women and men employees
working with the same title and in the
same company (Source: Statistics Finland 2018)

11. Reasons for Gender Wage Gap
Segregation of labour markets
– only 10% work in professions where
40-60% of the workers are men or women
(Source: Statistics Finland 2018)
Women work more often in low-payed jobs
Women have fewer working hours
– more part-time work
– less overtime
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 11

12. Women Run Greater Risk of Poverty
in Retirement
Gender difference
in poverty risk is higher
among elderly pensioners
Living alone increases the
poverty risk:
the majority of women
aged 75+ live alone
0
5
10
15
20
25
men
65-74
women men
75+
women all
%
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 12
Source: Statistics Finland (2018)
At-a-risk-of-poverty rates (60% of the median
equivalent disposable cash income), 2016

13. Women Spend More Years in Retirement
• Women spend more years in retirement and have
lower monthly pensions than men
• Women have a higher internal rate of return than
men
Duration of old-age pensions that ended in 2015
Men
14.9
years
Women
19.5
years
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 13

14. International Comparison
GENDER GAP

15. Gender Gap in Pensions
in Finland Below EU Average
Source: European Commission 2018
Labour market participation and full-time employment is
high among women in Finland. The comprehensive and
inclusive pension system also contributes to the low gap.
Gender gap in pensions, 2016
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 15
0
10
20
30
40
50
60

16. Effective Retirement Age Below Average –
But Small Gender Gap
Effective retirement age in OECD countries, 2016
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 16
years
Source: OECD Pensions at a Glance 2017
55
57
59
61
63
65
67
69
71
73
75
women men

17. Length of Working Life Close
to European Average - Small Gender Gap
Source: Eurostat 2018
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 17
Duration of working life, 2016
years
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
women men

18. Wide Gender Gap in Wages
Source: OECD 2018
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Gender wage gap 2013-2016, % of men’s median wage
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 18

19. Gender Wage Gap Due
to High Labour Market Segregation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Source: European Commission 2017
Gender segregation in occupations, 2015
FINNISH CENTRE FOR PENSIONS 19

20. More information:
kati.kuitto@etk.fi
susan.kuivalainen@etk.fi
Finnish Centre for Pensions