Denmark to raise retirement age to the highest in Europe

Denmark is intended to have the highest retirement age in Europe after his parliament adopted a law that raised it to 70 to 2040.

Since 2006, Denmark has tied the official retirement age with life expectancy and revolves it every five years. It is currently 67, but will rise to 68 in 2030 and up to 69 in 2035.

The 70 retirement age will apply to all people born after December 31, 1970

The new law passed on Thursday with 81 votes for and 21 votes against.

Last year, however, the Prime Minister Social Democrat Met Frederiksen said the principle of sliding scale would ultimately be renegotiated.

“We no longer believe that the retirement age should be increased automatically,” she said, adding that in the eyes of her party, “you can’t just say that people should work with a year long.”

Thomas Jenson, a 47-year-old roof, told the Danish media that the change was “unreasonable”.

“We work and work and work, but we can’t continue,” he said.

He added that the situation may be different for those with jobs on the desk, but that workers with blue collars with physically demanding professions will find the changes difficult.

“I have paid my taxes all my life. There must be time to be with children and grandchildren,” Jenson told Outlet DK.

Protests, supported by trade unions against the increase in retirement age, have been held in Copenhagen over the last few weeks.

Before the vote on Thursday, Jesper Ertroup Rasmussen, chairman of the Danish trade union Confederation, said the proposal to increase retirement age was “completely unfair.”

“Denmark has a healthy economy and yet the highest EU retirement age,” he said.

“Higher retirement age means that (people will) lose the right to a decent senior life.”

The age of retirement across Europe varies. Many governments have increased the retirement age in recent years to reflect a longer life expectancy and deal with the budget deficit.

In Sweden, the oldest age people can start claiming retirement benefits is 63.

The standard retirement age in Italy is 67, although, as in the case of Denmark, it is also subject to adjustments based on life expectancy assessments and can be increased in 2026.

In the UK, people born between October 6, 1954 and April 5, 1960 began to receive their pension at the age of 66. But For people born after that date, the State Pension of Age will increase graduallyS

And a law was passed in 2023, which raised retirement age from 62 to 64. The highly unpopular change caused protests and riots And he had to be driven through parliament by President Emmanuel Macron without voting.