Denmark's government wants to reduce the retirement age to 61

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 - Copyright Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP

By Alessio Dell'Anna with DKTV2 and DKDR via EBU

Published on 18/08/2020 - 18:46•Updated 19/08/2020 - 19:27

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The measure is designed to support those in "the toughest jobs", prime minister Mette Frederiksen said.

Denmark's government is proposing lowering the retirement age to 61, prime minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Monday.

"Good solid Danish citizens get up in the morning and go to work with aches and pain – maybe it is the back, the knee, the shoulders or maybe it is simply everything that hurts", she told journalists during a visit to a slaughterhouse in the eastern region of Jutland.

"We will put in place a new scheme for those of you who have been in the workplace for the longest. For those who have paid their taxes throughout the professional life and did some of the toughest jobs.”

Under the new proposal, those who have worked for 42, 43 or 44 years will have the right to retire one, two or even three years before the state pension.

Around 38.000 people are expected to benefit from this plan as early as in 2022, the government said.

The average retirement age in Denmark is currently 67 and was set to increase to 68 by 2030.

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