The amount of work done in the economy has been subject to a lot of debate in Finland recently. Unemployment is considered a major problem. On the other hand, extending annual working time receives little support. In fact, a widely held view is that one should reduce the working time of the...

Elderly people could markedly increase they standard of living by releasing their housing equity. Purchase of a single-payment life annuity would increase the benefits of this release. The tax treatment of these annuities is, however, very strict in Finland, because both yield and capital are...

We study the extent to which retired households in Finland could supplement their mandatory pension benefits by releasing their equity. We also consider the tax treatment of different financial products that turn wealth into an income stream. In addition, we use a life cycle consumption-savings...