Tuija Korpela: Supporting the young in life-course transitions. Presentation at Kela Conference on Social Security 2019 – Equality and wellbeing through sustainable social security system, 10.12.2019.

1. Supporting the young
in life-course
transitions
Tuija Korpela
Researcher
Kela
Kela Conference on Social Security 2019 –
Equality and wellbeing through sustainable
social security system
10th of December 2019, Helsinki

2. Typical transitions in youth:
- Leaving the nest
- Transition from education to
labour market
- Forming a partnership
- Childbearing and –rearing
See Isoniemi, Henna (2017) for more information
about European country clusters of transition to
adulthood

4. How young Finns rank in international comparison?

5. Employment rate is a bit above average OECD level,
but lowest among the Nordic countries

6. Only one in three young Finns works exclusively -
combining studying and working is quite common
Source: Investing in Youth: Finland, OECD (2019)

7. Young adults in Finland are highly educated
Source: Investing in Youth: Finland, OECD (2019)

8. Unemployment rate is relatively high but Finnish
youth are usually unemployed for a short time

9. The NEET rate is close to the OECD average
• Finnish NEETs are more likely to be female, less educated and
foreign-born than the general Finnish youth population
• The gender difference is entirely due to young adults in their late
twenties
• A higher proportion of foreign- than native-born youth are
NEETs in Finland
• Duration of the ”NEET status” of Finnish youth is usually quite
short
Source: Investing in Youth: Finland, OECD (2019)

11. Finnish social security system protects individuals
• Social security benefits that cover social risks (sickness, disability, old age,
maternity, unemployment, death of a family member) are individual
• Housing allowance is paid for the household and depends on the following:
• the number of adults and children in the household
• the municipality where the household is located
• income per month before taxes
• Basic social assistance is last-resort and means-tested financial aid
• the income and assets of the family are counted
11.12.201911

12. Approximate amounts of most common benefits
Study
Study grant €250/month
Student loan guarantee
€650
Housi
ng
Housing allowance: max.
€412 (=80 % of maximum
housing costs) for person
living alone in Helsinki
Unem
ploym
ent
€697 per month
Special requirements for
young people
Social
assista
nce
For person living alone
€497 has to be left after
housing, health and other
costs

13. Special requirements for people under the age of 25
• Unemployed people between 18–24 years who are without vocational
qualifications can be paid labour market subsidy on account of
unemployment only if
• they have not turned down work or training offered by the employment services
• they have applied for admission to a vocational training programme, have not turned
down, dropped out of or been dismissed for cause from such programme
• If they lack vocational qualifications, they must complete a 5-month
qualifying period to be eligible for labour market subsidy
13

14. Financial aid for students and unemployment benefits were most
common benefits among the youth in November 2016
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
17-30y
%
Age
Pension
Rehabilitation
Sickness
Child care
Unemployment
Study
Source: Mäkinen & Räsänen, Kela research blog. 8.11.2017

15. Housing allowance and basic social assistance receipt
is common among youth
Housing allowance receipt in 2018 Basic social assistance receipt in 2018
15
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Age
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Age

16. Groups at highest risk of prolonged stay on SA
• Single parent households
• Unemployed not receiving primary benefits, (long
term) sick and young people on parental leave
• Other than Finnish, Russian, Estonian or other EU
citizens
16

17. Benefit receipt is clearly higher than OECD average

18. Investing in youth is investing
in the future
Thank you!
tuija.korpela@kela.fi