Finland has earlier informed the European Commission that the national pension is not a minimum benefit, but an old-age and disability benefit. The redefinition has been justified with cost savings, with the government proposal indicating that halting the payments would reduce pension expenditure by 38 million euros a year starting in 2025.

Kela also expressed its doubt whether the redefinition can be made at the European Commission. If Finnish and EU laws are in tension with each other, the lack of clarity could create a situation where decisions to halt pension payments could be challenged in courts, it said.

The halting of national pension payments abroad is expected to affect 24,000 people, according to Kela. Among them are about 18,000 Finns living in Sweden, Anja Vahkaperä, the chairperson of the Association of Finnish-Swedish Pensioners (RSE), told STT in April.

The government proposal indicates that roughly 80 per cent of the pensioners affected by the redefinition would lose less than 200 euros a month.

It has set its sights on implementing the amendment at the beginning of next year. Kela, however, estimated in its comment that the timetable is too tight due to the technical considerations and the amount of administrative work required.

The proposal has also got a lukewarm reception from the Central Association of Finnish Pensioners (EKL) and Finnish Pensioners’ Federation. The advocacy groups pointed out that pensioners may have moved abroad specifically in pursuit of lower cost of living and that, if the amendment forced them to return, they could have to resort to supplementary benefits.

The national pension is available to people with low or non-existent earnings-based pensions in the form of old-age or disability pension.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT