The pension money of 755 euros is at risk – “Jealousy is the biggest reason here”

On Monday, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced a review of what kinds of public expenditure cuts and tax increases could be used to balance the public finances.

Sportsmen’s pensions were also included in the list.

26 athletes in Finland enjoy the state’s additional sports pension. The full pension is 1,510.95 euros and the partial pension is 755.47 euros. A pension can be granted to an athlete over the age of 60 who lives or has lived permanently in Finland.

The extra pension is a recognition of the gold medal the athlete received in the Olympic Games. For a special reason, a pension can also be granted for a significant international sports career.

In VM’s opinion, the public finances must be balanced on an annual basis for nine billion euros during two election periods. Of this amount, a total of 20 million euros have been calculated as the share of sportsmen’s, artists’ and newspapermen’s pensions.

There are significantly more people receiving artist and newspaperman pensions in Finland than ex-stars receiving sportsman’s pensions.

The mower swings

Negotiating official of the Ministry of Finance Ilari Ahola emphasizes that the purpose of the list at this stage is only to map preliminary options as savings targets.

If surgical measures were to be taken, according to Ahola, the political decision-maker would decide whether only the pensions coming from sportsman’s pensions, or also the current ones, would be abolished.

However, he himself believes more in the first option.

– It is probably a more realistic and politically easier option that new ones would no longer be granted, says Ahola.

Ahola does not see cutting pensions as a big risk for athletes’ livelihoods.

– However, this is not core social security. After all, everyone in Finland is entitled to an occupational pension and a national pension. In addition, the earnings after the sports career will probably accumulate into a pension, he reminds.

The legend was shocked

One of the few Finnish sportsmen’s pension recipients is an Olympic champion in wrestling Pertti Ukkola72. He won gold at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, and later completed his trophy cabinet with gold medals at the World and European Championships.

Ukkola was shocked when he heard about the surgical sites mapped by VM.

– It sounds bad if athletes’ pensions are cut, when they are not properly organized anyway, he corrected.

– For 20 years, work has been done to get that system in order. And when it was received, only half pensions were distributed.

Ukkola has been involved in arguing with the decision-makers about pensions from the very beginning. The job has been tiring.

– There have been many trips to the parliament and ministers’ speeches, but not just such a tough guy has been found who would have fixed things.

– It’s not a question of whether these people will get by on their pensions, but whether the state should respect success a little. An athlete who has won Olympic gold has certainly earned it. Has he brought so much joy and pain to Finns.

“The reason is envy”

The partial pension of 755 euros, which is also paid to Ukkola for sports success, is a welcome help in everyday life. It still doesn’t quite go to the moon.

– If you compare to some other countries, there you can get a pension just for a medal. You don’t even have to be a winner, says Ukkola.

– My guess is that the Finnish original sin of envy is the biggest reason here. People imagine that you just go to the Olympics and win. Yes, it’s a hell of a job.

Although VM’s Ahola believes that the current pensions will remain unchanged even with possible cuts, he cannot say for sure either. So, in the worst case, Ukkola’s sportsman’s pension may also go under.

– It sounds downright shitty. Things are bad in Finland, if this has to be done, the wrestling legend regrets.

Even on his retirement days, Ukkola drives to the wrestling gym twice a day, which means a total of more than 100 kilometers a day. You may no longer be able to afford fuel costs if the sportsman’s pension is abolished.

– Yes, that driving must stop then. I don’t get much more than mileage money for it, and even that is not enough for what is actually used for fuel these days. Until now, it has been possible to go around the gym in good faith.

There is no shortage of space

Inspector General of the Ministry of Education and Culture Kari Niemi-Nikkola hadn’t even heard of the mapping done by VM.

However, he sees that abolishing sportsmen’s pensions will not fix the deficit in the public finances in the first place.

– If you think about the sustainability of the state economy, the annual allocation of 320,000 euros for sportsmen’s pensions is not very significant, Niemi-Nikkola says.

– Although, of course, everything consists of small streams. But this is a very small stream.

Niemi-Nikkola feels that every athlete who enjoys a pension has earned his money. Greater savings could be achieved from other pension groups if the cuts are absolutely necessary.

– The distribution amounts of artist pensions are in a completely different category than the amounts of sportsmen’s pensions. It could already have some effect. Of course, I don’t necessarily want that to happen either, states the chief inspector.