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Denmark Raises Retirement Age to 70 — Could the U.S. Be Next?
Denmark is set to implement the highest retirement age in Europe, raising the public pension eligibility age to 70 by the year 2040. The move is part of an ongoing effort to align retirement policies with increasing life expectancy — a strategy Denmark has followed since 2006.
But could the United States follow suit? The answer isn’t so simple.
How U.S. Retirement Works
Unlike Denmark, the U.S. does not have an official retirement age. However, key milestones shape retirement planning:
- Age 65: Eligibility for Medicare begins.
- Age 66–67: Full Social Security benefits are available, depending on your birth year.
- Age 70: Maximum Social Security benefits can be claimed, with an 8% increase for each year benefits are delayed past full retirement age.
Despite the financial incentive, most Americans don’t wait until age 70 to claim benefits. A 2023 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that while over 90% of individuals would benefit from delaying, only about 10% actually do.
Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci of The New School notes that, although not official, economists often consider 70 as the de facto U.S. retirement age, since it’s the age at which further benefit increases stop.
“The U.S. had the highest effective retirement age globally for years,” Ghilarducci said.
Is the U.S. Retirement Age Changing?
Possibly. The debate is heating up.
In 1983, Congress passed legislation to gradually raise the full retirement age from 65 to 67 — a change that’s still being phased in today. Anyone born in 1960 or later now faces a retirement age of 67 to receive full Social Security benefits.
More recently, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment in December to raise the full retirement age to 70, as part of a broader package aimed at reforming Social Security benefits, especially for public pensioners.
Whether this proposal gains traction remains to be seen. Raising the retirement age is a politically sensitive issue, especially in a country where many older workers rely heavily on Social Security for income.
Bottom Line
Denmark’s move to increase its retirement age to 70 is a bold step in adapting to demographic shifts — and a signal of what may lie ahead for other nations. In the U.S., while the framework already nudges retirement toward 70 through benefit incentives, officially raising the age remains a complex, and controversial, policy debate.