Protecting partial early old-age pensions
Act amending the entry into force provision of the General Support Act
A partial early old-age pension granted before 16 January 2026 will not reduce the general support received by an unemployed person. The change rectifies the situation for persons who, when making their pension decision, did not know that it would affect the amount of the new general support.
- Status
- Passed with amendments
- Submitted
- 25 Jun 2026
- Latest event
- 21 Oct 2026
- Votes
- 2
- Speeches
- 5
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The General Support Act will be amended so that a partial early old-age pension is not taken into account in the means test for general support if the decision on it was issued before 16 January 2026. Under the previously passed act, pension income would have reduced general support for all recipients for the portion exceeding the monthly income threshold of 311 euros. The act will apply retroactively from the entry into force of the General Support Act on 1 May 2026.
What it means
The change will improve the livelihood of an estimated 2,000–3,000 older unemployed people, most of whom are men aged 60–64. The general support of those in the target group will increase by an average of around 174 euros per month, and Kela will pay them benefits retroactively. The proposal will increase public benefit expenditure by around 2.0 million euros in 2026 and 1.6 million euros in 2027.
How Parliament voted
2nd reading · 20 Oct 2026Parliament passed the act by 127–48.
The Greens and the Centre voted with the government. 24 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. Point at a dot to see the MP. Seats follow the current seating plan (updated 3 Nov 2026).
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
5 speeches · 4 speakers · 3 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed the impact of partial early old-age pension on the general support received by an unemployed person. The government proposal protected those who had made a pension decision before the entry into force of the act, but the opposition considered the scope too narrow. The basic rationale of the proposal was seen as necessary, but there was disagreement over its scope.
- Should partial early old-age pensions be excluded entirely from the means testing for general support?
- Is extending protection only to those who made their pension decision before the new legislation sufficient?
- National Coalition PartyIn favour
The government proposal implements the corrections required by Parliament by protecting the general support of those who had made a decision on a partial pension before the act was confirmed.
”Tässä esityksessä ehdotetaan yleistukilakiin eduskunnan lausumassaan edellyttämät muutokset.”
— Karoliina Partanen - Social DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The proposal partly improves the situation, but partial early old-age pensions should be excluded entirely from the means testing for general support to prevent double cuts.
”Hallituksen esitys korjaa osittain varhennettua vanhuuseläkettä saavien ihmisten asemaa. Valiokunnan tekemät parannukset eivät kuitenkaan riitä poistamaan ongelman ydintä.”
— Hanna Laine-Nousimaa
This digest was generated by AI from 3 speeches 18 Oct 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 25 Jun 2026Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö
- 15 Sep 2026Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 14 Oct 2026Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunta
- 16 Oct 2026Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 21 Oct 2026Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 21 Oct 2026Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki yleistukilain 55 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty muutettuna
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki yleistukilain 55 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti lisätään yleistukilain (48/2026) 55 §:ään uusi 8 momentti seuraavasti:
55 §Voimaantulo
Tämän lain 16 §:ssä tarkoitettua yleistuen tarveharkinnassa huomioon otettavaa tuloa ei ole työntekijän eläkelain, yrittäjän eläkelain (1272/2006), julkisten alojen eläkelain (81/2016), ortodoksisesta kirkosta annetun lain (985/2006), eräiden valtakunnassa voimassa olevien julkisten alojen eläkkeitä koskevien säännösten soveltamisesta Ahvenanmaan maakunnassa annetun maakuntalain (Ålands författningssamling 2016:76), merimieseläkelain (1290/2006) ja maatalousyrittäjän eläkelain (1280/2006) mukainen osittainen varhennettu vanhuuseläke, jos päätös osittaisesta varhennetusta vanhuuseläkkeestä on annettu ennen 16 päivää tammikuuta 2026.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 . Sitä sovelletaan 1 päivästä toukokuuta 2026.
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 16 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.