The Danish pensions industry is ready for partnerships with the armed forces, following a new report that highlighted the need for an improved military, according to Forsikring & Pension (F&P).

The government report detailed a “markedly changed and gloomy threat picture” after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and therefore major tasks for Denmark’s defence.

F&P noted that a number of companies in the pensions industry have signed up to help in relation to, for example, the operation and expansion of the armed forces buildings and the upgrading of the Danish navy.

“The changed threat picture is deeply worrying for the entire Danish society, and it is obvious that the expansion of the armed forces will be a major challenge for all parties,” said F&P deputy director, Tom Vile Jensen.

“There will be a scarcity of resources, and therefore it is obvious to look at how we can best solve the tasks together across all the skills and resources we have in Denmark.

“From the pension industry's side, there are several companies that are ready to undertake tasks within, for example, buildings, so that the armed forces can focus on the purely military tasks, as a result of the Ukraine war.”

The report will form the basis for the upcoming discussions in parliament on a new defence settlement, which must accommodate Nato’s objective that defense spending should correspond to at least 2 per cent of the country’s GDP.

In spring, F&P announced that several pension companies were considering investing and making their knowledge available for the armed forces.

“This applies, for example, to buildings and properties, but as an industry we also participate in the maritime partnership, where we must have created the framework for us to build the ships here in Denmark,” Jensen stated.

“The advantage for the armed forces will be that it can focus on the military tasks and handling the new security threats that the report also points to.

“At the same time, we can support the big projects that will come when, in the next 20-25 years, we will have built a number of ships for the fleet.

“It requires very extensive investments and associated financing, which not many Danish and foreign companies and suppliers can do themselves.”

The Danish pensions industry owns more than DKK 200bn in properties in Denmark.

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