Rehabilitation
18,500 rehabilitees within the earnings-related pension system
In 2019, nearly 18,500 persons (or 1% of the workforce) received rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system. In 2019, roughly 20,300 persons retired on a disability pension.
The typical rehabilitee within the earnings-related pension system was 47 years old and suffered from a musculoskeletal disease. The rehabilitation was usually carried out in the form of a work try-out either for the current or a new employer.
In 2019, the total expenses for rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension system was 174 million euros. The income compensation accounted for 152 million euros and the service expenses for 22 million euros. An average of 2,700 euros per month was paid as income compensation during rehabilitation.
In 2019, a total of 7,900 persons completed their rehabilitation. Of the rehabilitees, more than 70 per cent returned to work or continued studying. Only 5 per cent retired on a full disability pension. The rehabilitation is considered successful if the rehabilitee finds work or continues to study and retirement on a disability pension is prevented.
Statistical tables and figures:
What is rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension scheme?
The rehabilitation under the Finnish earnings-related pension acts is vocational and individual and intended for persons of working age. The earnings-related pension insurers arrange and finance the rehabilitation. The purpose of the rehabilitation is to prevent that the individual retires early on a disability pension and to ensure that workers stay in the workforce for as long as possible, despite illnesses, handicaps or injuries.
Measures of the rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system include guidance, investigations, work try-outs, work training, education, subsidies for starting or carrying on a business and various tools to make working easier.
Income compensation is paid during the rehabilitation period.
Who is the rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system intended for?
The rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system is intended for wage earners and self-employed persons who face the threat of retirement on a disability pension unless they take part in rehabilitation. An applicant for rehabilitation is required to be below their old-age retirement age, have a stabilised working life and a certain income level. In addition, the disease of the applicant must be such that it poses a threat of disability in the near future.
Rehabilitation
Producer: Finnish Centre for Pensions
Website: Rehabilitation
Subject area: Social security, Rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension system
Part of the Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): No
Description
The statistics includes data on vocation rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension acts.
Data content
The statistics includes data on rehabilitation applications and decisions, the right to appeal, rehabilitees, means and expenses of rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system and rehabilitation programs that have ended.
Categorizations
The data has been categorised by age, gender, rehabilitation background, medical diagnosis and sector.
Methods of data collection and source
The data for the rehabilitation statistics stems directly from the registers of the earnings-related pension providers and the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Information collected from the earnings-related pension providers include rehabilitation background, type of rehabilitation service, rehabilitation service expenses and the reason the rehabilitation program has ended.
Update frequency
The data is updated once a year.
Time of completion or release
For a more detailed schedule, consult the Release calendar, consult the Release Calendar.
Time series
The first rehabilitation data are from the year 1992.
Key words
Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system, type of rehabilitation service, rehabilitation expenses, rehabilitation application, rehabilitation decision
Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system
Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system is individual and vocational an intended for persons of working age. The aim of the rehabilitation is to help the employee or self-employed person to continue working despite an illness, handicap or injury. In other words, the aim is to prevent disability and postpone retirement.
Vocational rehabilitation takes precedence over the disability pension. Vocational rehabilitation is a statutory benefit of the earnings-related pension scheme. The rehabilitation applicant has the right to appeal all decisions concerning rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system. The pension providers (earnings-related pension insurance companies, company pension funds and industry-wide pension funds) are in charge of the rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system.
Requirements for getting rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system
An employee or self-employed person under the age of 63 has the right to rehabilitation if they:
- have an appropriately diagnosed illness, handicap or injury that forms a threat of disability and a risk of retirement on a disability pension within the next few years,
- meet the required earnings limit,
- have a stabilised working life and an adequately long working history and have earned a sufficient amount of pension,
- are deemed to benefit from the rehabilitation, and
- are not entitled to rehabilitation based on the motor or workers’ compensation insurance.
Means of vocational rehabilitation
Rehabilitation guidance
The rehabilitation experts of your earnings-related pension provider offer general advice and detailed guidance and instructions on vocational rehabilitation.
Review
Rehabilitation always requires an appropriate rehabilitation plan. Reviews are used to draw up a rehabilitation plan. When needed, the person who has been granted rehabilitation can turn to the service provider for help with drawing up the rehabilitation plan. Earnings-related pension providers do not finance reports that estimate the need for rehabilitation.
Workplace rehabilitation
Workplace rehabilitation is the primary means of rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension system. Workplace rehabilitation can take the form of a work try-out either for former or new work tasks. The work try-out lasts for a few months. If necessary, the work try-out can continue as work counselling. Work counselling is a longer period of training for new work tasks than the work try-out period.
Education
Education can be additional training in the form of a short-term course or longer-term retraining for new work tasks. Supporting basic education and basic training is not part of rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension system.
Business subsidy
The business subsidy is an interest-free or low-interest loan or allowance to set up or continue a business. As a rule, the business subsidy is granted as an allowance for the procurement of tools relating to the exercise of a profession. The precondition for getting the business subsidy is that the rehabilitee earns their income from the business.
Rehabilitation benefits
Rehabilitation allowance
The rehabilitation allowance is paid to a person who, before starting the rehabilitation, got a wage, a sickness allowance or an unemployment allowance. The allowance amounts to the amount of the disability pension under the acts on the earnings-related pension, increased by 33 per cent. The rehabilitation allowance is paid only during an active rehabilitation period.
Partial rehabilitation allowance
A partial rehabilitation allowance is paid to a rehabilitee who, while getting vocational rehabilitation, continues working partially. A partial rehabilitation allowance amounts to half of the full allowance.
Rehabilitation assistance
A discretionary rehabilitation assistance can be paid for the period while the rehabilitation plan is drawn, while waiting for rehabilitation or between rehabilitation periods. The assistance is paid for a maximum of three months. For the self-employed (insured under the Self-employed Persons’ Pensions Act or the Farmers’ Pensions Act) and for municipal workers (insured under the Local Government Pensions Act), the rehabilitation assistance can be granted to support employment for a period after rehabilitation if the rehabilitee has no other income.
The rehabilitation assistance is granted for a fixed period and of the same amount as the disability pension (without the 33 per cent increment). The rehabilitation assistance can also be paid as a partial rehabilitation assistance.
Cash rehabilitation benefit
The cash rehabilitation benefit is a fixed-term disability pension that can be granted when the rehabilitee’s ability to work is expected to improve as a result of treatment or rehabilitation. The precondition is that the disability is estimated to last for at least one year and that the period on a sickness allowance is not considered long enough to restore the ability to work.
A precondition for granting the cash rehabilitation benefit is that the applicant has drawn up a treatment or rehabilitation plan together with health care or occupation health care.
Rehabilitation increment
The rehabilitation increment is an increment of the cash rehabilitation benefit or the disability pension granted for the active rehabilitation period. The increment is 33 per cent of the paid pension, and it is paid for full months of rehabilitation.
Other expenses
The rehabilitee is paid immediate expenses (such as travel and study expenses) relating to the rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension scheme.
Other concepts
Age
Person’s age at the end of the statistical year.
Quality description: Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system 2018
The statistics Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system is released by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
The Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions (397/2006) states that the responsibilities of the institution include the compiling of statistics in its field of operation. The Planning Department of the Finnish Centre for Pensions compiles the statistics.
The compilation of statistics on rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system is based on the follow-up obligation relating to the reform of the rehabilitation laws in 1991 ( amendment to Employees’ Pensions Act 612/1991). The Finnish Centre for Pensions and the earnings-related pension providers pay the expenses relating to the compiling of the statistics.
Relevance of statistical information
The statistics on rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system covers all rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system. The right to rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system has been regulated in the earnings-related pension acts listed in Chapter 3 of the Employees Pensions Act (395/2006). The statistics on rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system offers a comprehensive view of vocational rehabilitation financed by private sector earnings-related pension insurance companies, company pension funds and industry-wide pension funds, as well as of publically financed vocational rehabilitation. Rehabilitation arranged by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) is not included in the statistics.
The statistics covers the entire rehabilitation process, from rehabilitation application to end of rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation follow-up. The statistics includes data on rehabilitation applications, rehabilitation decisions, rehabilitees, rehabilitation measures and expenses, rehabilitation programs that have ended and rehabilitation costs.
The central data has been divided based on the background of the rehabilitee, that is, whether the rehabilitee was working or retired when the rehabilitation began. As of 2016, the rehabilitees have been further divided based on individuals applying for rehabilitation on their own initiative and those who have been granted a right to rehabilitation in connection with a disability pension decision. Other classifiers in the statistics include age, gender and diagnosis.
When improving the statistics, the needs of the users (mainly the earnings-related pension providers) and legal amendments have been taken into consideration.
The concepts and definitions used in the statistics are presented on the homepage of the rehabilitation statistics at www.etk.fi/en/statistics-2/statistics/rehabilitation/.
The statistics serves rehabilitation specialists, researchers and the media, as well as others in the field who need information on rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system.
Correctness and accuracy of data
The data of the statistics are based on the statistical database of the Finnish Centre for Pensions and, as for the rehabilitation services, on individual-level data separately compiled from the earnings-related pension providers. The Planning Department of the Finnish Centre for Pensions is responsible for collecting the data. The data are presented according to instructions compiled by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Data collected straight from the earnings-related pension providers include type of rehabilitation, rehabilitation costs, statutory workers’ compensation insurance contributions for rehabilitees and post-rehabilitation status (that is, what the result of the rehabilitation was).
Data relating to rehabilitation decision statistics needed to produce the statics on rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension scheme have been picked from the pension register. The data include preliminary rehabilitation decisions, rejected and granted rehabilitation applications, the date on which the applications have been instigated, the rehabilitees’ pension history, disability diagnosis and income costs during rehabilitation.
Data relating to the effects of rehabilitation have been picked from the earnings register. The data include information on work after rehabilitation. The register includes data on work for which pension accrues: periods of employment and self-employment, as well as unpaid periods due to, for example, unemployment, training and parenthood.
The Finnish Centre for Pensions compiles the basic dataset of the rehabilitation statistics by combining the data collected from the pension providers and the register data needed to compile the statistics.
Together with the earnings-related pension providers, the Register Services Department of the Finnish Centre for Pensions is responsible for the contents of the earnings register, the accessibility, scope, legality and accuracy of the data needed for the implementation of pension provision and for addressing any errors in the contents. The register’s handling systems include permissibility and logical checks where the programme requires correction or verification of data. The error messages may also be comments that do not inhibit the registration of data.
Arek Oy is responsible for the information technology aspects of the earnings register. Arek Oy is a company jointly owned by the pension providers and the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Flaws detected in the statistics are immediately corrected on the website. The correction procedure follows the guidelines issued by the Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland.
Timeliness and promptness of published data
The preliminary data of the statistics are released in the spring and the final data in June of the year after the statistical year. The release dates are presented in the Release Calendar.
Coherence and comparability of data
The statistics has been compiled since 1992 under the same grounds so the data are comparable since then.
Availability and clarity of data
The statistical data are released annually on the Finnish Centre for Pensions website (pdf file). Some of the data are also released in the Finnish Centre for Pensions statistical database.
A description of the statistics is presented on the homepage of the statistics.
For additional information contact the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ statistical service.