Forty-one per cent of Danes want to retire before the state pension age, according to a study by Sampension.

However, Sampension has warned that extra savings are required if people do want to retire early to avoid a drop in income as a pensioner.

The study by Epinion, conducted on behalf of Sampension, of 1,000 Danes shows found that 41 per cent of those surveyed said that they want to retire before the current state pension age of 67 years. Thirty-two per cent indicate that they would like to retire from the labour market at age 67 or later. A further 20 per cent do not know, while 7 per cent of respondents have already left the labour market.

Sampension head of marketing and customer advice, Anne-Louise Lindkvist, said that even though the retirement age is rising in Denmark, many still dream of being able to retire early. She said that this is due to seeing older generations of pensions generally retire earlier than what the national retirement age dictates.

Calculations by Sampension show that a person earning a salary of DKK 400,000 with a 15 per cent pension contribution would see their pension income drop by DKK 13,300 if they retire one year before the national pension age.

New calculations from Sampension show that a person with a salary of DKK 400,000 per year and a monthly pension contribution of 15 per cent of the salary can look forward to the payments from the pension savings in the pension life will decrease by approx. DKK 13,300 per year, corresponding to 8 per cent, if you retire one year before the national pension age - ie as a 66-year-old instead of as a 67-year-old.

To compensate for this loss, Sampension calculates that an extra DKK 5,100 pension contributions must be paid per year in the 30 years to retirement.

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