Awarded support

Supplementary artist pensions awarded to 57 artists

The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) has decided on supplementary artist pensions starting in early 2025. Supplementary artist pensions are intended to supplement the artist’s pension security. The number of applications has increased in recent years. For the first time, less than 8 percent of applicants will receive a supplementary artist pension.
Published

A supplementary artist pension may be awarded as recognition of an outstanding contribution to the creative or performing arts. Decisions are based on an assessment of the applicant’s artistic activities, as well as information about the applicant's pension and other permanent income. A supplementary artist pension may be awarded to an artist above the age of 60 or who has a permanent work disability and whose earnings do not exceed the set limit.

The average pension income of artists remains very low, and a supplementary artist pension can be very important for the livelihoods of ageing artists. The current economic challenges are reflected in the continuous growth in the need for pensions. The number of applicants increased by approximately 5 percent compared to last year, amounting to 715 applicants.

“The pension system should be structured in a more appreciative and encouraging way in terms of how it takes into account other pension income. These measures should also convince the younger generation of artists that an artistic career can be long term and take into account the different stages of the career path,” says Kaisa Rönkkö, Director of Taike.

From the beginning of 2025, the amount of each supplementary artist pension will be 1623 euros per month. If the applicant's other pension income exceeds the pension amount, he or she may be granted a partial pension. Pensions are paid from the state budget, which has earmarked an amount corresponding to 51 new full artist pensions. The number of new pension recipients varies annually due to the ratio of full and partial pensions awarded. A total of approximately 1100 artists currently receive a supplementary artist pension.

The highest number of artist pensions were awarded in the fields of fine arts and music, which also accounted for the most applications. The differences between artforms are very large in terms of both the number of applicants and the accumulation of pensions. Altogether 13 new artist pensions were awarded to musicians and 19 to visual artists, which is also the largest number of new pensions awarded to a single artform.

Due to data protection considerations, Taike does not publish the names of recipients of supplementary artist pensions.

Further information:

Head of Arts Support Henri Terho, [email protected], p. 0295 330 901