Denmark’s ATP is increasing pensions in payment this year by 3% in the mandatory first-pillar population-wide scheme it runs, boasting that this was possible because of its financial strength.
The DKK644.7bn (€86.5bn) statutory institution, which has come under particular fire for sustaining large investment losses in the last two years, this morning said that from the turn of the year, its 1.1 million pensioners would have their annual ATP pension increased to DKK16,500 on average from DKK16,000 now.
Martin Præstegaard, ATP’s chief executive officer, said: “ATP is so financially robust that once again, we can give pensions a financial boost and so make the daily lives of the core of our members a little easier.”
However, the Hillerød-headquartered organisation admitted it had been two years since it had last granted a bonus, then by 4%, and that while on that occasion the raise had applied to all members, this time it was only for pensioners.
The last time ATP carried out a pensioners-only increase was 2015.
‘Going as far as we can’
ATP, whose stated aim is for pension payments to keep pace with inflation, said this latest increase is the fifth time in 10 years pensioners have received an increase in their ATP pension.
Acknowledging the insufficiency of the 3% increase taking effect in 2024, Præstegaard said: “We are not closing the entire gap in their finances that the individual has experienced after inflation of almost 10% in 2022. There are no pension schemes that can.
“But we are going as far as we can to ensure the pensioners have a little more in their daily lives,” he said.
A fortnight ago, Denmark’s small and medium-sized enterprises lobby published a new survey showing that few Danes opposed the idea of allowing people to choose a provider other than ATP to manage their savings in the labour-market supplementary scheme it runs.
It said it had commissioned the poll because ATP was once again suffering heavy losses.
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