Denmark is raising its retirement age to 70, making it the highest in Europe. The Danish parliament passed a law on Thursday that will apply to people born after December 31, 1970.
Denmark does the right thing and raises the retirement age. This is exactly why Scandinavia will stay wealthier and healthier than southern Europe. France and Italy will soon lie in ruins because of their constant strikes and pathetic populist policies. https://t.co/elouLOlaPQ
— Alexander Bard (@Bardissimo) May 24, 2025
The current retirement age in Denmark is 67 on average, but it can go up to 69 for those born on January 1, 1967, or later.
Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said the increase is needed to keep Denmark’s welfare system going for future generations. Denmark has about 6 million people.
The French took to the streets when their retirement age rose to 62. But then again that's why their debt is more than their GDP whereas Denmark is on stronger fiscal footing.https://t.co/gf5lblVcCX
— Keith Humphreys (@KeithNHumphreys) May 23, 2025
Around 713,000 are between 60 and 69 years old, and around 580,000 are between 70 and 79, according to Statistics Denmark.
In order to preserve the affordability of the state pension, the Danes introduced a law in 2006 that raises the state retirement age every 5 years in line with life expectancy. As a result, by 2040, retirement age in Denmark will be 70.https://t.co/P2XYevrf3C
— Theo Bertram (@theobertram) May 23, 2025
F&P, the Danish trade group for insurance companies and pension funds, said more Danes are working until and past the state pension age in recent years. About 80,000 people over the state pension age are working in Denmark right now. This is because of good economic conditions, more flexible employers, better financial reasons, and a greater desire to keep working.
“For many Danes, the idea of the state pension age going up to 70 by 2040 may seem overwhelming,” said Jan V.
Denmark’s retirement age adjustment
Hansen, the director of pensions at F&P.
“But the figures clearly show that more Danes are staying in jobs for longer,” he added. “The good news is that many Danes not only have the health but also the desire to keep working, even after reaching the state pension age.”
But not everyone is happy with the decision. Denmark’s socialist Red-Green Alliance called the vote by “the government and the right wing” “unreasonably high.” Pelle Dragsted, a member of parliament for the party, criticized the change.
He noted that many ministers can retire at age 60 and pointed out the physical strain on workers in hard jobs like teaching and scaffolding. Denmark is the first European country to set its national retirement age past the 60s, making it one of the highest in the world, similar to Libya. The change follows global trends, as several other countries are also changing retirement ages because people are living longer and are healthier in old age.
In France, there were protests over the government’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64. The UK and US have similar policies set to change the retirement age to 67 and beyond in the coming years. The increase in Denmark’s retirement age shows the bigger talks about how societies can adapt to aging populations.
It’s about balancing the need for economic stability with the physical and mental health of their workers.
