Skip to content

Old-age pensioners and disability pensioners

How many recipients of national old-age pension and disability pension live in Denmark? And what does the average public pension amount to? The statistics on recipients of national old-age pension and disability pension include recipients of national old-age pension and disability pension as well as senior pension, early retirement pension and disability benefit.

Explainer on…

Reduced pension that can be given to pension recipients who have not lived in Denmark long enough to receive full pension. Fractional pension is calculated as a fraction of the full pension.

Old age pensioners must, as a general rule, have resided in Denmark for at least 40 years from the age of 15 to 65 to be entitled to full pension and at least 3 years to receive pension at all. The fraction is calculated as the number of years of residence in Denmark divided by 40 years.

For early disability pensioners, the actual residence time in Denmark at the time of granting pension must have been at least 4/5 of the person's age at the time of grant deducted by 15. The fraction is calculated as the residence time in Denmark divided by 4/5 of the time the person has lived since the 15th year.

Supplement to state pension that depends on other income and marital status.

A type of pension that you can be paid if you have a maximum of six years until the state pension age, have a permanently reduced ability to work (maximum 15 hours per week assessed on the basis of your last job), and you have a long-term connection to the labor market (20-25 years of full-time work).

A type of pension that you can be received between one to three years before the state pension age, depending on how many years you have been on the labour market. It takes at least 42-44 years on the labor market to be awarded early retirement pension, depending on your age group.

Selected statistics on Old-age pensioners and disability pensioners

This page shows selected popular statistics on the subject of Old-age pensioners and disability pensioners. In Statbank Denmark, you can find more data and compile your own statistics.

Development in the number of recipients of national old-age pension

In the following, you can see the monthly development in the number of recipients of national old-age pension. Be aware of the effect of the increasing official retirement age. Numbers from before 2021 can be found under 'archive' in StatBank Denmark.
 
More about the figure
Last update
10.10.2024
Next update
10.1.2025
Source data

The source is Udbetaling Danmark social pensions register (UDKPE).

Average national old-age pension

In the following, you can see what recipients of national old-age pension receive by benefit type and family type.
More about the figure
Last update
10.10.2024
Next update
10.1.2025
Source data

The source is Udbetaling Danmark social pensions register (UDKPE).

Development in the number of recipients of disability pension

In the following, you can see the monthly development in the number of recipients of disability pension. Be aware of the effect of the increasing official retirement age. Numbers from before 2021 can be found under 'archive' in StatBank Denmark.
 
More about the figure
Last update
10.10.2024
Next update
10.1.2025
Source data

The source is Udbetaling Danmark social pensions register (UDKPE).

The age and gender of Danish recipients of disability pension

In the following, you can see how recipients of disability pension are distributed by age and gender.
More about the figure
Last update
10.10.2024
Next update
10.1.2025
Source data

The source is Udbetaling Danmark social pensions register (UDKPE).

On the statistics – documentation, sources and method

Gain an overview of the purpose, contents and quality of the statistics. Learn about the data sources of the statistics, the contents of the statistics and how often they are published.

See the documentation of statistics to learn more:

Old Age Pension and Disability Pension

The purpose of the statistic Old age and disability pension is to measure the number of recipients of old age pension or disability pension and the average benefit. The statistic includes recipients living abroad. The statistic is consistent from 2009 and onwards. However from 2021 it is available for all months.

Need more data on Old-age pensioners and disability pensioners?

You can find more information in StatBank Denmark with more detailed figures, e.g. on the size of the benefit, type of benefit, municipalities, and more.

Contact

Morten Steenbjerg Kristensen
Phone: +45 20 40 38 73