Denmark is set to have the highest retirement age in Europe, after lawmakers voted to raise it to 70.
Parliamentarians passed a bill mandating the rise on Thursday, with 81 votes in favor and 21 against.
The new law will apply to people born after December 31, 1970. The current retirement age is 67 on average, but it can go up to 69 for those born on January 1, 1967, or later.
The rise is needed in order to be able to “afford proper welfare for future generations,” employment minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said in a press release Thursday.
I have very little confidence I’ll get a retirement. Even though I’m contributing to the Canada Pension Plan, I’m so far away that by the time I get there I have serious doubts the program will still exist. There is obviously calculations they make to determine the health of the fund, but I don’t think they are properly taking into account how much extra strain extended life expectancies will take on the program. If they plan for people to be on retirement for an average of 15 years, and suddenly that changes to 20 or 25 years, that fund will dry up quick. Combine that with the influx of boomer retirees and to me it doesn’t look so good.