The areas for improvement that the forthcoming Danish pension commission will look to address are “spot on”, according to Forsikring & Pension.

The retirement-focused commission, which is a spin-off of the Senior Pension Agreement from 2019, will seek possible solutions to the desire for increased flexibility around retirement.

Forsikring & Pension deputy director, Karina Ransby, said that it was “positive” that the commission would be looking into more flexible retirement options.

“We know from numerous studies that Danes have very different wishes for how long they want to be in the labour market. It requires more flexibility than is possible today,” she stated.

Forsikring & Pension suggested that flexibility should be considered in conjunction with the rising retirement age and the commission’s analysis of a future life index.

Additionally, it urged the commission to look into finding a political solution on differentiated pensions, as new opportunities for earlier retirement could reduce the need for changes in lifetime indexations.

Ransby also praised the commission’s aim of simplifying the Danish pension system.

“Many people today find the pension area complex and find it difficult to see through their own pension,” she commented.

“Therefore, it is good that the commission should look at the possibilities of making the pension system simpler.”

However, the organisation questioned the commission’s task of looking into new forms of insurance schemes for the vulnerable or frail.

It argued that the Danish pension system had built up “strong solutions” for frail employees and warned that it was important that the commission did not make any proposals that could threaten a “well-functioning market”.

“We are therefore also pleased that the commission has until 2022 to look at the issues,” the group stated.

“The complex system requires ample time for in-depth analysis, and it is important to look at the entire pension system and at the interplay between public services and the occupational pension system.”

Ransby welcomed the decision to appoint Jørn Neergaard Larsen as chairman of the commission, saying that it was “gratifying” to have a chairman who had “in-depth knowledge” of the Danish labour market and pension system.

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