Horizon to pension begins to write 70 …

« We no longer believe that retirement age should be increased automatically, » Danish Prime Minister and Social Democrats, Methe Fredericksen, said last year.

To add that « it is not possible to continue to say that people will be obliged to work for another year. »

None of the above, however, did not prevent her and her party from presenting last Thursday in parliament law that makes the Scandinavian country the first in Europe and one of the few in the world that will increase the age limit of 70 years.

As it was not accepted by a widespread majority – 81 votes in favor, against 21 by – there are a few who believe that Denmark is opening a path that, sooner or later, will be followed by its other partners in the European Union.

In practice, of course, what will happen is that a process will be accelerated that has already begun, as one after the other the « 27 » governments are proceeding with corresponding moves.

This, despite the strong social reactions they are provoking, as it turned out in 2023 in France, when the then government of Emmanuel Macron was confronted with a general social outburst in its attempt to increase the threshold from 62 to 64 years – without, without any.

In this process, in fact, there are often times when governments seem to not calculate political costs. Nor, of course, the fact that they had often not included the reform of the insurance-pensioner in their pre-election announcements or made statements that « showed » in the opposite direction, as was the case with Fredericksen.

Strong arguments are undoubtedly on both sides.

As for the rulers, the rationale could be condensed into one of the statements made by the President of France: « Do you think I enjoy going through this reform? No.

But the longer we expect, the more it will get worse, ”he said characteristically, referring to the deficit of the insurance system.

That is, this is that almost all of the rulers cite, stressing that the aging population in Europe (and in the West) dramatically worsens the proportion between workers and pensioners, which in turn threatens to make insurance-inspections unsustainable.

« Denmark has a healthy economy and, yet, the highest retirement age in the EU.

Which means that people will lose the right to a decent life as the elderly, « said the president of the Danish Confederation of Labor Union a few hours before the critical vote in parliament, expressing them » opposite « .

And while the situation for pensioners is constantly making it difficult, with official figures showing that in the EU more than 10% (in fact much more) continues to work to ride them.

The two roads seem to open clearly: one in one rules and priorities, almost exclusively the numbers and deficits in the funds, with what they entail. The other is dominated by people’s need for life and not for survival, at a time when (theoretically) technology enables us to live more comfortable by working less.