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In Denmark, the retirement age, currently 67, is indexed to life expectancy and revised every five years. Some unions are worried about an upcoming decline in this age limit in a country where many citizens already work for a long time. Extract from the magazine “We, the Europeans” of March 30, 2023.
Unions occupy an important place in Danish society: 80% of employees are union members. In this country, negotiation is preferred to contestation, and all the unions have approved the pension reform.
“As people live longer, the retirement age is regularly increased. It will soon be at 69, 70 and 71, explains John Ekebjaerg-Jakobsen, president of the 3F union in Copenhagen. We want it to stop at 68. You can’t tell 18-year-olds working on construction sites that they’re going to have to work until they’re 72. It’s impossible.”
“Prices have gone up, but not my retirement”
For some Danish seniors, working into old age is not a choice, but an obligation. “With inflation because of the war in Ukraine, prices have gone up, but not my pension”, testifies Daisy Borvang, 73, who distributes newspapers at three in the morning every day.
This work earns him 950 euros gross per month, which is not enough for the cost of living in Denmark. Her retirement pension covering only her rent, she is obliged to combine jobs: distributing newspapers on the one hand, and serving meals in a school on the other.
Excerpt from “I’m old, so what?”, broadcast in “We the Europeans” on March 30, 2023.
> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the Franceinfo website and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.
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