Denmark is on course to have the highest retirement age in Europe after passing a new law that will see the state pension age rise to 70 by 2040.
The legislation extends a long-standing policy of linking retirement to life expectancy, a model that has triggered growing debate across Europe.
The move extends the country’s long-standing policy of linking retirement age to life expectancy, which currently averages 81.7 years.
It could reshape the retirement landscape for other countries, raising questions about whether the UK might follow a similar path as governments grapple with ageing populations.
Under the legislation, anyone born after December 31, 1970 will be affected, with phased increases taking the retirement age to 68 by 2030 and 69 by 2035, before reaching 70 by 2040.
The policy has not been without controversy in Denmark. Social Democrat Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had previously questioned the fairness of automatic rises, warning that "you can't just keep saying that people have to work a year longer".
While many politicians back the reform, critics - including trade unions and left-leaning parties - argue it is unfair to manual workers, who often face physical strain later in life.
This tension between fiscal necessity and social impact mirrors debates happening in many European countries, including the UK.
The state pension age could be raised sooner than expected to reduced the cost on future generations GETTY Some MPs have warned that the policy could eventually push the retirement age as high as 77, raising wider concerns across Europe as populations age.
The UK state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women. Between 2026 and 2028, it is scheduled to increase gradually to 67, affecting those born on or after 6 April 1960. It is then set to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046, affecting those born on or after 5 April 1977.
This gradual approach reflects the UK's cautious stance on pension reform, though experts suggest the timeline could be accelerated as demographic pressures mount.
Speculation around raising the state pension age usually centres on whether the planned increase to 68 will be brought forward.
Jason Hollands, managing director of wealth management firm Evelyn Partners, told The i Paper that the earliest this could happen was by 2035, given Governments generally commit to giving 10 years' notice of changes.
He said: "It seems improbable anything will be announced in the near future," noting the debate has cooled recently due to a plateau in life expectancy and the general election.
UK State pension age will rise to 67 by 2028 then it will further increase to 68
GETTYHowever, Hollands believes it is "almost inevitable" the changes will be brought forward before the mid-2040s, driven by longer life expectancy, medical advances, and demographic and fiscal pressures.
Former pensions minister Ros Altmann said direct comparisons with the state pension ages in the UK and Denmark are not entirely fair. Denmark's system includes a supplemented basic pension, an element of means testing, and early retirement options.
She said: "The UK has no such flexibility and those not well enough to work till the ever-rising state pension starting age and without private pensions or other savings are just plunged into penury and must rely on meagre state working age benefits which are even less than our low state pension."
Sir Steve Webb, former pensions minister and partner at LCP, explained that three factors could slow down an increase in the state pension age.
Pension ages are rising across the developed world as countries come to terms with the combination of people living longer
GETTYThe first is the 10-year commitment, which means a Government gets all the "political flak" but no extra revenue in the current parliament. The second is that successful efforts to reduce working-age economic inactivity would increase the tax base needed to fund pensions.
Thirdly, if the cost of the pension were reduced in other ways – for example, breaking the triple lock or tightening eligibility rules – it would give more scope to keep the state pension age where it is.
Webb said: "Pension ages are rising across the developed world as countries come to terms with the combination of people living longer and fertility rates dropping, meaning there will be fewer workers in future to fund pension costs."
He added that state pension age has proved to be a "hot political topic" with little incentive for politicians to announce aggressive future increases.
"There are also legitimate concerns about the wide differences in life expectancy around the UK, which means that an across-the-board increase in pension age has a particularly hard impact on more deprived areas," he noted.
