Denmark’s parliament passed new legislation on Tuesday that means pensions in payment to married retirees will in future no longer be reduced if their spouse or cohabitant works.

Labour-market pension provider Sampension said the move could mean DKK2,000 (€269) extra a month for such pensioners, and the Ministry of Employment said about 100,000 citizens were expected to benefit from the new rules.

The government agreed the reform package “Faster into jobs and a stronger labour market” earlier this year with a majority of the country’s parliamentary parties, involving the abolition of the offsetting principle in relation to payments from the state, early retirement and senior pension as a result of spouses or cohabitants’ earned income.

Following Tuesday’s vote in the Danish parliament (Folketing), a bill implementing that part of the agreement has now been adopted with effect from 1 January 2023, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the change was expected to lead to an increase in the labour supply by an estimated 1,650 full-time employees.

Peter Hummelgaard, Denmark’s minister for employment, said: “In this way, we are making it more attractive for more people to take one more turn in the labour market.”

He added that this would benefit the individual, who could look forward to more money between them and their spouse, but that the increased number of people available for work would also benefit companies and the public at large.

Anne-Louise Lindkvist, head of marketing and customer advice at Sampension, said: “It will certainly make more seniors and pensioners consider continuing in the labour market.”

She added that in addition to providing financial gain through increased national pensions, the new rules would also mean that many couples would no longer have to think about whether it would cost their pensions if the other spouse wanted to continue working.

The DKK294.8bn pensions firm said it had calculated that from next year, when the new rules enter into force, someone receiving the state pension and with a working spouse could look forward to receiving just over DKK2,000 more per month as a result of the new rules.

Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine

Rachel is IPE's Nordic correspondent. She has long been a freelance writer, and over the years, has written for The Telegraph, The Independent, The Observer, AMWatch and elsewhere. In 2001, Rachel's personal finance book Kickstart Your Money was published by John Wiley & Sons.View full Profile

More from Rachel Fixsen

Topics