Danish retirement pension

There are various kinds of pensions in Denmark. The state retirement pension is called “folkepension”. On this page you can read about the Danish state pension if you live, work or have worked in Denmark or another Nordic country. You can read about the other types of pension on the page about the Danish pension system.

Do you have the right to a Danish retirement pension?

As a rule, when you live and work in Denmark you are earning the right to a Danish retirement pension.

If you live in Denmark and work in another Nordic country, you will usually earn pension rights in the country where you work.

If you work in two or more countries, or are posted to another Nordic country, the rules may be more complicated. Contact the authorities if you are in doubt about where you are earning the right to a pension. In Denmark, you should contact the office for international social security at Udbetaling Danmark.

How do you earn the right to a Danish pension?

The right to a Danish pension is based on the number of years you have lived in Denmark from age 15 until retirement age, or until you are awarded senior pension or disability pension.

You are entitled to a full retirement pension if you have had 40 years of residence during that period. If you have lived in Denmark for less than 40 years, you may be entitled to a partial retirement pension. This is called a fractional pension. Udbetaling Danmark calculates your fractional pension on the basis of the time you have lived in Denmark from age 15 until retirement age. If you reach retirement age on 1 July 2025 or later, you must have lived in Denmark for nine-tenths of the time from age 15 until you reach retirement age in order to be entitled to a full retirement pension.

If you have earned the right to a social pension from another country for a period of time, this period does not generally count when Udbetaling Danmark calculates your Danish period of residence. This also applies even if you have lived and had an address in Denmark during the period.

You are not entitled to Danish retirement pension if your earning period in Denmark has been less than one year.

When will your Danish retirement pension be paid out?

The time at which you can receive retirement pension depends on when you were born. The retirement pension age is 67 years in 2026, but it rises to 68, 69 or 70 years for people born in later years. You can see which retirement age applies to you at borger.dk.

You can postpone your retirement pension – the longer you postpone your pension, the larger your retirement pension will be.

How to apply for retirement pension

As a general rule, you must apply for a retirement pension yourself. You can apply at the earliest six months before you are entitled to a retirement pension. However, you should not apply for retirement pension if you already receive disability pension, disability benefit, senior pension or early pension, because your pension will be changed automatically.

Can you receive a supplement to a Danish pension?

You may in some cases be entitled to a supplement to your state pension, e.g. supplementary pension benefit, media cheque, heating allowance, health subsidy or personal subsidy. You can read more about supplements at borger.dk.

Can you receive housing allowance as a pensioner?

You may have the right to housing allowance if you live in Denmark. This depends, amongst other things, on your rent, your income, the size of the dwelling and the number of people who live there. You can read more about housing allowance at borger.dk.

Can you take your Danish retirement pension with you to another Nordic country?

If you are a Danish citizen or a citizen of an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you can generally take your state retirement pension with you to another Nordic country. You must apply to Udbetaling Danmark for permission to take your pension abroad.

You cannot take your Danish state retirement pension with you to the Faroe Islands or Greenland. Instead, you must apply for a pension according to the Faroese or Greenlandic rules.

You can read more at borger.dk.

What will happen to my state retirement pension in the event of my death?

If you live with a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner who is also in receipt of either a disability pension, senior pension or state retirement pension, your pension can continue to be paid for up to three months after your death. This is known as a survivor’s pension.

Your next of kin will not as a rule need to do anything about your disability pension, senior pension or retirement pension in the event of your death. The National Registration Office will notify Udbetaling Danmark and your local authority, and an automatic decision will be made about what will happen to your pension. If you live abroad, your relatives must however themselves contact Udbetaling Danmark.

How can you see whether you have earned the right to a pension in Denmark?

If you have any questions about your Danish retirement pension or your pension earning period in Denmark, you can contact Udbetaling Danmark.

Where do you pay tax if you receive a Danish retirement pension abroad?

See the Nordic tax portal, Nordic eTax, for more information about taxation of pensions in the Nordic Region.

Who should you contact if you have questions about the Danish state retirement pension?

More information