The Danish Parliament (Folketing) has adopted a bill to increase the state pension age to 70 from 2040.
The bill to raise the retirement age is a consequence of the 2006 Welfare Agreement, in which a broad majority in the Folketing agreed that the state pension age ensured a connection between life expectancy and retirement age. This statement include both women and men.
Today’s vote, which secured a majority, means everyone born after 31 December 1970 can retire when they turn 70. The state pension age is currently 67, but it will increase to 68 in 2030 and 69 in 2035.
Minister of Employment, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, said it would be the “last time” Social Democrats voted for an increase within the current automatic system.
“There is a big difference between whether you start your working life at 16 or you are well into your 20s before leaving university. That is why we need a fairer pension system, which we will negotiate well in advance of 2030,” she added.
According to the Pensions Act, the Danish Parliament must decide every five years whether to increase the retirement age if the life expectancy of 60-year-olds increases.
The state pension age was most recently increased in 2020 by one year to 69 years, effective from 2035. Previously, the retirement age was increased to 68 years in 2015, effective from 2030.
According to the Ministry of Employment, the current increase in the retirement age from 69 to 70 will strengthen public finances by approximately DKK 15bn by 2040.
In addition, a higher state pension age and, thus, later withdrawal from the labour market, will also impact pension savings.
