Niko Väänänen
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nikovaananen.bsky.social
Niko Väänänen
@nikovaananen.bsky.social
Pension whisperer of BlueSky.

Interested in sustainable retirement/pension systems.

Social policy | economics | political sciences

Most recent article: https://journals.sagepub.com/share/AMKH2Y83XVINPYJHHMFN?target=10.1177/13882627251402952
Pinned
A right to early retirement for conscripts.

In this article I argue that conscripts are owed, as a matter of justice, earlier access to retirement to compensate for the disadvantage they experience and the free time they lose.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
Spain's constitution promises democracy at work. Last year, @yolandadiaz.bsky.social convened an expert group to study how to make good on that promise.

Lead by @isabelleferreras.bsky.social, we have delivered what is, we think, the highest-level 400-page report on economic democracy out there. 1/2
February 3, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
⌛3 weeks left to submit a paper for the summer conference of the CEPR Research Policy Network: The Economics of Longevity and Ageing.
#EconSky #CallForPapers
📢 #CallForPapers - The Economics of Longevity and Ageing
9-11 July 2026 | University of Cambridge
Deadline: 27 February 2026
Organisers: Martin Ellison @oxfordecondept.bsky.social, Tiernan Evans @eitoxford.bsky.social, Eric French
cepr.org/events/econo...
#EconSky
February 3, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Tämä on kieltämättä omaperäinen tapa tulkita eläkkeiden maksamista (itse juttu maksumuurin takana, joten en lukenut).

Näin tulkittuna Saksassa, Ranskassa tai Italiassa kukaan ei ole maksanut eläkkeestään itse mitään, koska maissa on jakojärjestelmät.
February 3, 2026 at 6:53 AM
Danish government wants that the local pension funds invest more in Denmark and Europe.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
February 1, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Norway’s oil fund tests unlikely but high-impact scenarios for its portfolio value

Fragmentation and sweeping tariffs pose the largest risk, cutting value by 37%, followed by an AI correction, a regional debt crisis, and climate change (only fourth?)

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
January 31, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
New on the Social Policy Blog:

“What can we learn from pension reforms in Latin America and Southern Europe?” by Marina Angelaki and Leandro Nicolas Carrera.

socialpolicyblog.co.uk/2026/01/29/w...
What drives successful pension reform? Lessons from two regions
A cross-regional analysis of pension reforms shows how institutions, legacies and negotiation shape feasible and lasting reform in ageing societies.
socialpolicyblog.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Usein nostetaan esiin se, että Tanskassa eläkeikä (67) on korkea ja nousee. Tärkeä myös huomioida etuuksien taso.

Yksinasuvan täysi vähimmäiseläke on n. 2170 e/kk ennen veroja.

Työtulot eivät vähennä vähimmäiseläkkeen määrää.
January 28, 2026 at 1:40 PM
En mycket läsvärd artikel om det svenska pensionssystemet.

efn.se/pensionssyst...
Frågan framåt: Vem ska betala för pensionerna?
Pendeln har svängt – nu varnar forskare
efn.se
January 26, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Alankomaissa on tasaeläke, jonka päälle sitten alakohtaiset ’työeläkkeet’. DB viittaa siihen, että eläke määritelty etukäteen x %:ksi palkkaa.

Maan uudistuksessa luovuttiin tiukasta eläkelupauksesta, tämä mahdollistaa enemmän riskiä sijoituksissa -> Vähäisempi tarve ’varmoilla’ valtionlainoille
January 25, 2026 at 4:26 PM
A shift away from defined-benefit pension schemes reduces the demand for long-term debt.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
January 25, 2026 at 3:13 PM
The great unemployent convergence between the Nordics and southern Europe.

NB. Especially Finland and Sweden driving up the numbers for SNIFD countries.

www.economist.com/finance-and-...
January 23, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
Kuviossa lapsiperheköyhyyden subjektiivisia ja objektiivisia indikaattoreita koottuna.

Viimeaikainen kehitys palauttaa köyhyyden yleisyyden 15-20 vuoden takaiselle tasolle.
January 23, 2026 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
“Sweden’s largest private pension fund has divested $8.8 billion in US Treasuries, the most significant withdrawal yet from American government bonds since Trump’s Greenland crisis erupted, citing “increased risk and unpredictability in US politics,”

thedeepdive.ca/swedens-larg...
Sweden's Largest Pension Fund Dumps $8.8B in US Bonds | the deep dive
Sweden’s largest private pension fund has divested up to $8.8 billion in US Treasuries, marking the most significant withdrawal yet from American government bonds since President Donald Trump’s Greenl...
thedeepdive.ca
January 23, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Joo, samaa mieltä. Outo vastaus.
January 22, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Tekstissä Varman varatoimitusjohtaja sanoo, että heidän ensisijainen vastuu on ajatella suomalaisia eläkkeensaajia.

Toivon kuitenkin, että vastuu on ajatella myös eläkkeiden rahoittajia (ja myös ei-suomalaisia eläkkeensaajia...).
January 22, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Tanskalainen AkademikerPension on tieteentekijöiden oma eläkerahasto, ja se on perinteisesti ollut hyvin progressiivinen sijoitustoiminnassaan (esim. ESG).

Suomalaiset eläkeyhtiöt on rooliltaan ja tyyliltään vähän erilaisia. Edustavat myös heterogeenisempaa joukkoa.

www.is.fi/taloussanoma...
Tanskalainen eläkerahasto teki rajun ratkaisun – näin paljon suomalaisten eläkerahaa on kiinni Yhdysvalloissa
Suomalaiset eläkeyhtiöt eivät aio seurata tanskalaisen eläkerahaston esimerkkiä.
www.is.fi
January 22, 2026 at 9:53 AM
'European pension funds: Assemble!'

Some European pension funds have independently decided to dump their US treasury holdings but a co-ordinated European approach seems very unlikely.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
January 22, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
AkademikerPension announced it will sell its U.S. Treasuries, worth $100 million. Do Danish pension funds sit on a giant pile of Treasuries that they could dump?

Sorry to inform you: no. In fact, they've been selling U.S. bonds for years: $3.2bn in Jan 2023; down to $890mn in Jan 2026. 1/2
January 21, 2026 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Niko Väänänen
Economists, sending their best
In an era of great power rivalry, Canada is choosing to be principled and pragmatic. To name reality, to act together, and to build what we claim to believe in.
January 21, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Sell America strategy? Improbable according to this FT piece.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
January 20, 2026 at 10:59 AM
I wanna see the post-match press conference #afcon
January 18, 2026 at 9:53 PM
And that penalty kick!
January 18, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Wow, what an end to Afcon.

I feel sympathy for Senegal, though.
January 18, 2026 at 9:11 PM
“The basic problem is that the economy hasn’t grown fast enough,” says Rupert Watson, global head of economics at Mercer. “It’s not what pensioners get is causing the problem — it’s the lack of economic growth.”

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Can Europe still afford its generous state pensions?
Rising numbers of older people across the continent are straining budgets and making for some difficult political decisions
giftarticle.ft.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:15 AM
I think the US/DK-Greenland press conference was the first time I heard somebody speak Greenlandic/Kalaallisut.

What a cool sounding language! 🇬🇱
January 14, 2026 at 7:29 PM