Reader’s opinion|In Finland, the pension system has adapted to the changes in a thoughtful manner without jeopardizing sustainability.
In conversation about occupational pensions, it is often forgotten that occupational pension insurance companies are insurance companies under private law. HS analyzed (September 26) in his story, a long-term topic, the merger of occupational pension insurance companies.
To make matters worse, one could just as well demand a merger of the banks. Or even more to the point, why do we have so many grocery stores selling the same milk in the first place? At the end of the day, it comes down to whether competition is believed to bring benefits.
In writing looking for Canada’s statutory pension system. Since the country’s statutory occupational pension offers a fairly low level of benefits, there are also plenty of supplementary pension schemes in Canada.
The article also mentioned the good investment returns of the Canadian system and called for passive investing. In Canada, however, the investment strategy emphasizes activity. The connection between good returns and a passive investment strategy is therefore not obvious. Investment costs are focused on certain types of assets, such as capital investments and real estate.
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Our pension system was not built to be decentralized by chance.
When comparing investment returns, it is also worth looking into possible reasons for the differences. The comparison group is also important: according to the OECD, Finland’s ten-year average real return on funded pensions is the sixth best among 28 countries.
Our pension system is not built to be decentralized by chance, and competition is not the only benefit.
Decision-making and risk management are decentralized. The most important thing is that the institutions’ assets and investment decisions are beyond the reach of daily politics. It is enough to look at what happened to pension funds in Europe during the financial crisis and see that the risk is real. Or if this is not enough, you can take a look at the extra transfer of half a billion euros from the State Pension Fund in 2015.
This does not mean that the Finnish pension system is perfect. One of the biggest strengths is that the pension system in Finland has adapted to changes in a thoughtful manner without jeopardizing sustainability. We will wait to see what the new pension reform will bring.
Mikko Kuusela
director responsible for employment pension matters
Finanssiala ry
The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which are selected and delivered by the HS editors. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
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