Immigration has once again been cast as a panacea for Finland’s pension system.
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People in their 60s have twice as much confidence in the Finnish pension system compared to those under 30, Turun Sanomat reports on Wednesday.
Immigration could defuse Finland’s looming pension bomb, according to Elina Fogelholm, the new head of pension insurance company Veritas.
Despite anxiety among young people, Fogelholm told Turun Sanomat that the country’s earnings-related pension system is on sound ground.
But that sentiment is not universally shared in Finland. A recent study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions found that only 27 percent of under-30s trust the system to deliver for them in old age.
Among those over 60, confidence is roughly twice as high, illustrating a generational divide in the country.
Fogelholm argued that restoring faith among younger Finns should be a priority.
“Young people can trust that they will receive a pension,” she told TS.
One policy helping buffer the system is migration. More working-age people could not only help carry the system, but also ease pressure on contribution rates, she explained.
Patient data for sale
A USB flash drive containing sensitive patient information from the Covid-19 pandemic was discovered at a flea market, reports Hufvudstadsbladet.
Late last year, a laptop bag was sold at a flea market in the Pirkanmaa region. The bag had a USB stick containing official decisions ordering a number of individuals into isolation and quarantine.
The 253 decisions were dated from 2020–21, and according to HBL, it’s unclear who had handled the USB stick and how it ended up being sold at the flea market. The wellbeing services authority said it will contact all those affected and has since reported the incident to the police.
Package pop-up
Would you stand in line to buy a mystery box?
Across Europe, shops selling undelivered online purchases have been drawing large crowds. In some cities, lines have stretched for hours.
Helsingin Sanomat reports that the phenomenon has now arrived at Helsinki’s Kamppi shopping centre, where a pop-up shop began selling parcels that never reached their intended recipients. A line snaked for metres outside the store, displaying shelves stocked with unclaimed packages.
The business model is simple. Parcels are priced by weight, not by contents, and customers are given ten minutes to inspect and select their prospective purchases before committing.