Entitlement to Danish pension: Jens Buus

Entitlement to Danish pension

by Jens Buus

Danish citizens living abroad may not realise that they may be entitled to a Danish state pension even if they have not worked or paid tax in Denmark. The entitlement depends on the number of years a person has lived in Denmark. The basic rule is that you are entitled to 2.5% of the normal state pension for each full year you have lived in Denmark after your 15th birthday. This means that a person moving abroad aged 25 will get a 25% pension, and somebody living in Denmark until aged 55 and then moving abroad, will get a full pension. NonDanish citizens who have worked in Denmark are also entitled to a pension. The Danish authorities are supposed to notify you about your entitlement, but of course they can’t do that for a person with a foreign address unknown to the ‘system’, and in any case you will still have to apply. The pension is quite generous, but there is a tax threshold equivalent to about £5k, and income tax is deducted if the pension exceeds this threshold. You will also have to enter any foreign pension you may receive on your UK tax return, but you get credit for any tax deducted in Denmark.

Anybody who has worked in Denmark after about 1965 will also have paid into a supplementary pension (ATP), and the employer will have paid in as well. If the monthly pension payments from this scheme, based on the contributions made, are below a certain minimum level, a lump sum will be paid instead. Any lump sum payments are taxed at 40%.

More information is available from: Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension Kongens Vænge 8 DK 3400 Hillerød Tel +44 70 12 80 55 (Monday to Friday 10.00 to 14.00, DK time) Email intpension@atp.dk

Disclaimer: Kindly note that the above information is based on my own experience and my understanding of the current rules. I accept no responsibility, consequently, for possible errors or omissions.