Finland's Finance Ministry proposes ending home-care subsidies and raising retirement age to 70

The Finnish Ministry of Finance presented a set of fiscal reforms aimed at curbing public spending. Central to the plan is the removal of the home-care allowance, justified on gender-equality grounds because it is said to limit women’s long-term career advancement. The ministry also proposes a phased increase of the minimum retirement age, moving it up by six months at a time until it reaches 70, after which the age would be adjusted according to life expectancy.

Further cuts target age-linked disability-pension assessments and specific unemployment-benefit exemptions, with the goal of encouraging longer work lives and boosting tax revenue. The reforms are framed as options for a balanced budget, with the government seeking at least eight billion euros in annual savings through a mix of spending cuts and tax adjustments. Political parties have offered differing approaches, ranging from pure tax hikes to pure spending cuts, while the ministry stresses the need for a fair distribution of the fiscal burden across current and future retirees.