Workers in the Scandinavian country will need to work longer before retirement
Denmark's retirement age is going up to 70 years old by 2040 to make it the highest across Europe, according to reports.
The country's retirement age, currently at 67, will rise to 68 by 2030, 69 in 2035, and then 70 in 2040, the BBC reported.
This new retirement age will apply to all people who are born after December 31, 1970.
The increase was voted in favour by the Danish Parliament, 81–21, as it is mandated by the country's Pensions Act to decide every five years to hike the retirement age if the life expectancy of 60-year-olds increases.
Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said in a media release that the increase was to "afford proper welfare for future generations".
However, she noted that this will be the last time that the Social Democrats vote for an increase within the current automatic system.
According to the minister, they will negotiate a new and "fairer pension system" ahead of 2030.
Denmark's current population is nearly six million as of April 2025, as per Statistics Denmark. By age, there are currently 713,091 people between the ages of 60 and 69.
On the other hand, there are nearly 580,000 people who are between the ages of 70 and 79 in the country.
In terms of life expectancy, Statistics Denmark has shown that it is 79.9 years for newborn baby boys and 83.7 years for girls.
The increase in Denmark's retirement age comes amid similar moves across the world.
China last year approved an increase in its retirement age for men to 63. For women, those in white-collar jobs will see an increase to 58, while those in blue-collar jobs will have their retirement age set at 55.
Thailand also revealed plans last year to raise the country's retirement age to 65.
Singapore is also targeting a retirement age of 65 and a re-employment age of 70 by the year 2030. Its current retirement age is 63, while re-employment is 68.
In Malaysia, there is also ongoing debate among labour groups, the government, and employers on whether to hike the retirement age there to 65.
These measures come as the World Health Organisation estimated that one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years and over by 2030. This is expected to grow to 2.1 billion by 2050.
"People worldwide are living longer. Today most people can expect to live into their sixties and beyond. Every country in the world is experiencing growth in both the size and the proportion of older persons in the population," it said in a report last year.
