Retirement age and rules

You must meet a number of conditions to qualify for early retirement

Even if you have paid into the early retirement scheme, there are a number of rules that must be met before you are entitled to early retirement. Call us on +45 70 12 37 82 if you have any doubts about your early retirement age or rules for payment of early retirement.

The 2011 early retirement reform means that the early retirement age is gradually increased. This means that the early retirement age varies according to date and year of birth. 

Conditions for early retirement

You can take early retirement from employment, unemployment and partial pension if you meet the following conditions.

The conditions for early retirement are:

• You must have reached your early retirement age.
• You must meet two seniority requirements: 30 years of membership of an unemployment insurance fund and a corresponding number of years of paying early retirement contributions. However, there is a transitional arrangement (see below).
• You must be available for work. My unemployment fund must therefore assess whether you are available for work. This could be, for example, if you have been disconnected from the labor market due to illness.
• You must be entitled to unemployment benefits at the time the early retirement certificate is issued. If you are unemployed, your entitlement to benefits from the unemployment insurance fund must not be exhausted. If you have an early retirement certificate, it is not a condition that you are healthy at the time of transition.
• You must be a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund and be resident in Denmark (Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands) or in another EEA country. Special rules apply if you have worked or been insured abroad.
• You must apply to Min A-kasse for permission to run a self-employed business as a sideline while you are on early retirement.
• You must have at least six months of full-time work in Denmark within the last three years if you have also worked abroad.

Transitional scheme and early retirement age

A transitional scheme ensures that everyone who, under the previous rules, would have been able to meet the requirement of 30 years of membership and early retirement contributions, will be able to take early retirement or receive an early retirement certificate under the new rules.

Here you can see which rules apply to your early retirement age based on your year of birth:

• If you were born before July 1, 1956, you can no longer take early retirement.
• If you were born between July 1, 1959 and June 30, 1964, you can meet the membership requirement if you have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund and paid early retirement contributions continuously from July 1, 1999 and at least until the early retirement age. The period of membership and payment of early retirement contributions must be at least 20 years within the last 25 years.
• If you were born before July 1, 1964, you can meet the membership and contribution payment requirement if you have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund and paid early retirement contributions continuously from July 1, 1999. The period must be at least 20 years within the last 25 years.
• If you were born between July 1, 1964 and December 31, 1975, you can meet the membership requirement if you have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund and paid early retirement contributions continuously from January 1, 2008 and at least until you turn 62. The period of membership and early retirement contributions must be at least 25 years within the last 30 years.
• If you were born between January 1, 1976 and December 31, 1977, you can meet the requirement for membership and payment of early retirement contributions for 30 years if you start paying early retirement contributions to your unemployment insurance fund from the day you turn 32 at the latest.
• If you were born on January 1, 1978 or later, you must be a member of an unemployment insurance fund and pay early retirement contributions from the day you turn 30 at the latest. However, you do not have to pay early retirement contributions for more than 30 years.

Early retirement age and state pension age

In this table you can see both your early retirement age and your state pension age. If you were born before January 1, 1956, you can no longer take early retirement.

The cooling-off period

If you have previously chosen not to pay early retirement contributions, you have the option to cancel. The regret scheme can only be used by people born on 01.7.1963 or later.

Conditions for entitlement to early retirement pension under the early retirement scheme:

• If you were born in the period 01.07.1963 - 01.01.73, you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund continuously from January 1, 1997.
• If you were born on 01.01.73 or later, you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund continuously from the age of 24.
• You are not entitled to early retirement before the state pension age according to the general rules.
• You must be able to pay into the early retirement scheme for at least 15 years before you reach early retirement age. You must remain a continuous member of an unemployment insurance fund until you reach the early retirement age.

Enrolling in the early termination scheme means that your early retirement pension will be reduced. The early retirement benefit will be reduced by 2% of the highest daily allowance for each year of non-contribution and the premium will be reduced by 4%.

You can sign up for the withdrawal scheme by contacting Min A-kasse.