An increasing number of young adults in Finland are saving money for retirement, partly due to concerns about whether the pension system will provide a sufficient income in the future.

A recent survey published by the Finnish Centre for Pensions found that 48 percent of people aged 25-34 are saving for retirement. This represents an 11 percentage point increase on the corresponding figure found during a similar survey carried out in 2019.

The survey garnered the views of about 1,600 working-age respondents, one of whom was 28-year-old Katariina Haapanen. She saves more than a thousand euros a month because, she told Yle, she doesn’t trust the pension system.

"I don't want to be dependent on anyone else or waiting for something I'm not completely sure about. It gives me a lot of peace of mind to know that I can go look at my bank account and know exactly what's there," Happanen said.

Multitude of motivations

Happanen's fears are widely shared. The survey results indicated that weakening trust in the pension system is a key reason for young people increasingly putting money aside.

Economist Kati Ahonen, who was involved in the research, noted that "young people are becoming more critical about whether they will receive pensions in due course and whether the pension is sufficient for them".

Beyond this lack of trust, and fear over not receiving a pension, many young adults also choose to save in the hope of retiring before the official pension age. Ahonen suggested that many young people have concrete plans for their savings — often involving money for everyday life, hobbies and travel.

This trend is understood to be influenced by a growing culture of savings and investing, promoted through social media and conversations young people have with their friends.

Intergenerational savers

Young people are not the only ones saving more, with people over 50 also increasingly putting money aside. In Ahonen's view, people are now better informed about their own pensions and therefore are thinking about their finances more consciously than ever before.

People aged 35-44 are the exception however, as this demographic demonstrated a slight decrease in savings over the period from 2019 to 2024.

Not everyone can save

However, not everyone is in a position to be able to save.

Kim Jalonen, 22, a student at the Pop and Jazz Conservatory said his current financial situation as a student does not allow for long-term savings. While he works alongside his studies, he notes that money left over is only enough to save for "maybe next month or the next couple of months".

While Jalonen still expresses trust in the system, he is particularly concerned about the continuous increase in the official retirement age, among other changes.

Economist Kati Ahonen further added that many young people may have an overly pessimistic view of future pensions, as she encouraged them to check widely-available pension calculators as a means of better understanding their expected benefits.