Denmark will be the highest retirement age in Europe after the parliament passes a law to raise it to 2040.
Since 2006, Denmark has linked its formal retirement age to life expectancy and revised it every five years. Currently it is 67, but will rise to 68 in 2030 and 69 in 2035.
The retirement age of 70 will apply to everyone born after December 31, 1970.
The new law passed 81 votes and 21 votes against it on Thursday.
But last year Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the sliding scale principle will eventually be renegotiated.
“We no longer believe that retirement age should automatically increase,” she said, adding that in her party’s eyes you can’t just say that people have to be up to a year”.
Tommas Jensen, 47, told Danish media that the change was “unreasonable”.
“We are working, working and working, but we can’t keep moving forward,” he said.
He added that things may be different for those with desk jobs, but blue-collar workers with physically demanding careers will find the changes difficult.
“I've paid taxes all my life. I should have time to be with my kids and grandchildren,” Jansen told the Distinguished DK.
Over the past few weeks, Copenhagen has been faced with union protests over the growth of retirement age.
The vote was ahead of Thursday's vote, Jesper Ettrup Rasmussen, president of the Danish Federation of Trade Unions, said the proposal to raise the retirement age was “totally unfair”.
“Denmark is economically healthy, but the EU has the highest retirement age,” he said.
“A higher retirement age means [people will] Losing the right to live with dignity. ”
The retirement age varies across Europe. In recent years, many governments have raised their retirement age to reflect longer life expectancy and address budget deficits.
In Sweden, the earliest age individuals can start claiming pension benefits of 63.
Italy's standard pension age is 67, although like Denmark, this is also adjusted based on life expectancy estimates and may increase in 2026.
In the UK, people born between 6 October 1954 and 5 April 1960 began to receive pensions at the age of 66. But for those born after this date, the state pension age will gradually increase.
In France, a law was passed in 2023, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old. The highly unpopular changes have sparked protests and riots, which have to be pushed through parliament by President Emmanuel Macron without a vote.
