Denmark to raise retirement age to 70

Summary

Denmark will raise its retirement age to 70 by 2040, the highest in Europe, after a controversial vote in parliament.The increase in retirement age was approved in the country’s legislature, with 81 votes in favour and 21 against.The age of retirement has been tied to life expectancy in Denmark – currently 81.7 years – since 2006, with the government raising the threshold every five years.Under the Danish system, the retirement age will rise from 67 to 68 in 2030, and then 69 in 2035, and finally to 70 in 2040. The retirement age of 70 will only apply to Danes born after Dec 31, 1970.Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has admitted that the sliding scale for retirement is not sustainable, and that a new system will eventually need to replace it.“We no longer believe that the retirement age should be increased automatically,” she said. “You can’t just keep saying that people have to work a year longer.”Danish workers reacted with scorn to the new rules, warning that they would be particularly tough for blue-collar workers in physically demanding jobs.“[It’s] unrealistic and unreasonable,” roofer Tommas Jensen, 47, told public broadcaster DR. “We work and work and work, but we can’t keep going.”He added: “I’ve paid my taxes all my life. There should also be time to be with children and grandchildren.”