Denmark to Raise Retirement Age to Europe's Highest at 70 by 2040

Automatic Link Between Life Expectancy and Retirement Age
Labor Unions Protest: "Undermining the Right to a Dignified Old Age"

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Denmark has decided to gradually raise the retirement age for receiving pensions, reaching 70 years old by 2040, which will be the highest in Europe.

According to a report by the UK’s Telegraph on May 23 (local time), Denmark’s unicameral parliament approved the proposal to raise the retirement age with 81 votes in favor and 21 against.

Since 2006, Denmark has implemented a system that automatically links life expectancy to the retirement age and adjusts it every five years. Currently, life expectancy in Denmark is 81.7 years. As a result, the current retirement age of 67 will be raised to 68 in 2030, 69 in 2035, and 70 in 2040.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged that the current system, which automatically raises the retirement age, is not sustainable and stated that a new system will eventually need to be created to replace it.

Labor groups are strongly opposing the decision. Jesper Ettrup Rasmussen, chairman of the Danish Trade Union Confederation, criticized, “Denmark has the highest retirement age in the European Union (EU) despite its strong economy,” and added, “Raising the retirement age means people are losing the right to a dignified old age.”

Meanwhile, in neighboring Sweden, people can receive pensions as early as 63 years old. In France, when the Emmanuel Macron administration raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, large-scale protests broke out across the country.