Finland-Income Security Classified as Welfare

View of Turku (Abo), Finland's third largest city, with the Aura River in the foreground; in the background, Turku Cathedral
Courtesy Embassy of Finland, Washington

In addition to the above benefits that were classified as income security in the form of social insurance, there were income security programs classified as welfare. One of the differences between the two classes of social programs was that the welfare measures were financed mostly through taxes, whereas social insurance programs were paid for by employers and employees. This second category of income security also consisted of payments to those eligible. The most important and expensive class of these benefits involved payments to families with children. Other programs assisted those who had suffered war injuries and their dependents, provided financial aid to those called up for military service and to their families, made payments to the handicapped that helped them earn their living, and provided living allowances that were the last resort of those unable to earn their way.

Data as of December 1988