Accordingly, the present trend in public finances and the adjustment required cannot be reviewed in isolation from the ageing issue. Long-term plans have been put in place in Finland to deal with the expenditure pressures of population ageing. This has been reflected not only in public expenditure planning, but also in the pension reform and public-sector productivity programmes.
The aim has been to reduce central government indebtedness and thereby to provide room for the short-term costs of structural reforms and for the long-term upward pressures of expenditures. Other  4  BIS Review 23/2010  goals have been to extend the number of years people spend in working life and to raise productivity in the provision of basic public services.