Here you can get information on who is entitled to disability pension, how much can be paid and how to be granted disability pension. In general, persons below the age of 40 will not be granted disability pension, unless the workability obviously cannot be improved.

You can also read about senior pension that can be granted to people with a long attachment to the labour market and less than six years to the public retirement age.

You can also get information on who is entitled to a flexi-job, and how much you can be paid in a flexi-job.

In what situation can I claim?

You can be granted disability pension, if your capacity for work is permanently and substantially reduced in such a degree that you will never be able to provide for yourself by working – not even in a flexi-job.

You can be granted senior pension, if you have less than 6 years to the public retirement age, a capacity of a maximum of 15 weekly working hours of latest job, and a previous work record of full-time employment in 20-25 years.

You can be entitled to a flexi-job, if your local authority finds that your capacity for work is permanently and substantially reduced.

If you have been assessed for a flexi-job, the following rules apply:

• A flexi-job is granted for 5 years (it is therefore known as a temporary flexi-job);
• After 4½ years the local authority has to assess whether you are still entitled to a flexi-job. Note that this does not mean that you have to change jobs;
• If you are over the age of 40 and still meet the conditions for a flexi-job after your first flexi-job, however, it is possible for you to obtain a permanent flexi-job;
• You can be employed in a flexi-job at your previous place of work (a retention flexi-job), if you have been employed under the social chapter of the agreement or on special terms for a minimum of 12 months. However, you need not meet the requirements if you have suffered an acute serious industrial injury or are suddenly affected by a serious illness.

What conditions do I need to meet?

In order to be granted disability pension, your workability must have been assessed through a ‘resource’ scheme (ressourceforløb) which takes into account different factors, such as physical and mental health, education, previous jobs, and social networks. It must have been concluded that your workability is substantially and permanently reduced in such a degree that self-providing from any kind of work, including flexi-job, is precluded. Disability pension will not be granted if your workability can be improved through activation, treatment, rehabilitation, resource schemes or in other ways, except if you are less than six years to the public retirement age and have a long attachment to the labour market. In this last case, you can be granted a Senior pension, if your workability is permanently reduced to such a degree that you can only work 15 hours a week in your latest job. In such cases, no attempt will be made to improve the workability through for example activation, rehabilitation or resource schemes.

In general, if you are below the age of 40 you will not be granted disability pension, unless the workability cannot be improved. Instead, you will be offered a resource scheme in order to try to improve your workability.

As a general rule you must in addition:

• be a Danish citizen and have lived in Denmark for at least 3 years from your 15^th birthday, or;
• have lived in Denmark for at least 10 years from your 15th birthday (at least 5 of these years just before you are granted disability pension).

If you do not fulfil the conditions above, you may nevertheless be entitled to Danish disability pension if:

• You are a Danish citizen;
• you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, stateless or a refugee;
• you have a total of at least 3 years of earned entitlement to pension from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, of which at least 1 year was earned in Denmark, and
• you have worked in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

If you are not a citizen of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you may nevertheless be entitled to Danish disability pension. Read more about Danish disability pension.

Please note that the provisions above apply to those who are covered by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

In a flexi-job, account is taken of the fact that your capacity for work is reduced. A flexi-job can be granted to you by the local authority if:

• you are below retirement age;
• your work input is permanently and substantially reduced;
• all your options for holding a job on normal terms have been examined and excluded;
• you should note that you cannot be granted a flexi-job if you are entitled to a disability pension.

Please note that it is also possible for you to get a grant as a self-employed person on special terms if your work capacity is permanently and substantially reduced.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

Disability pension

Disability pension amounts to DKK 19,738 per month for single persons and DKK 16,778 for a recipient with a spouse or partner.

For both schemes, the benefit rate will be adjusted according to personal income of a certain amount. If the person has a spouse or partner the benefit can also be adjusted according to the income of the spouse or partner if this exceeds a certain ceiling (but from 1 January 2023 a spouse/co-habitant’s income from work no longer reduces the pension). The disability pension is granted permanently. At the pensionable age, it will be replaced by the old-age pension.

The amount may be smaller if you have lived outside the Danish Realm (Denmark, Greenland, the Faroes) during the period from when you reached the age of 15 until you were granted disability pension.

You are entitled to the full disability pension, if you have lived in Denmark for 9/10 of the time from the age of 15 till you were granted disability pension, otherwise you are entitled to a fraction of disability pension (calculated as fraction between the time you have lived in the Denmark and 9/10 of the time from you turned 15 till you were granted disability pension).

You can appeal within four weeks against a decision on a disability pension.

Flexi-job

If you are employed in a flexi-job you are paid a salary for the work input you actually complete. For example, your employer has to pay you for 10 hours if you work 20 hours a week and your work intensity is only 50%. It is the job centre that assesses your work intensity and the number of hours you can work.

Besides a salary from your employer you receive a flexible pay subsidy as a supplement from the local authority. This is calculated on the basis of an amount corresponding to 98% of the maximum level of unemployment benefit.

If you were employed in your flexi-job before 1 January 2013, the rules from before this time apply. This means that you receive contractual pay, and your terms of employment are set in cooperation with the trade-union organisations. Your employer receives a public subsidy that is equivalent to half or two-thirds of the minimum contractual pay. The level of the subsidy depends on your work capacity. It is regularly assessed whether the subsidy is to be increased, reduced or cease altogether.

Self-employed persons

Self-employed persons can receive pay subsidy to continue working in their own business, if they have a reduced working capacity. If you have started to receive pay subsidy after 1 January 2013 the level of the grant depends on the earnings of the business.

If you started to receive pay subsidy before 1 January 2013, the subsidy is set according to the same principles as for salaried employees who started a flexi-job before 1 January 2013.

Read also about the unemployment benefit you may be entitled to before or after a flexi-job, including during holidays.

Jargon busters

• Resource scheme (ressourceforløb) is a form for assessing the workability of a person which takes into account different factors, such as physical and mental health, education, previous jobs, social networks.
• Borger.dk is your portal to the public sector. Here you can get more information on disability pension and flexi-job.
• Udbetaling Danmark (Payment Denmark) is a public authority which is responsible for payment of a number of public benefits to the citizens. These are tasks which were previously dealt with by the country's 98 municipalities.
• NemKonto (Easy Account) is an ordinary bank account which you have beforehand. You can choose for yourself which of your bank accounts is to be your NemKonto account. The public authorities pay into this account.

Forms you may need to fill in

Self-service at borger.dk: get an overview and search on disability pension, senior pension or flexi-job.

Know your rights

At the links below you can get information on your legal rights. They do not refer to European Commission websites and therefore do not represent the views of the Commission:

• Pension Act;
• Pension Executive Order (disability pension and old age pension);
• Executive Order on flexi-jobs;
• Executive Order on Calculation of and Deductions in Flexible Pay Subsidies;
• Act on Active Employment Initiative - Chapter 20 on flexi-jobs, etc.;
• Guidance on flexi-jobs, etc.

European Commission publications and website:

• EU Social Security Coordination

Who do you need to contact?

Beskæftigelsesministeriet (Ministry of Employment)

Holmens Kanal 20
1060 København K
DENMARK
Tel. +45 72205000
E-mail: bm@bm.dk

See relevant information about disability pension at lifeindenmark.dk and at borger.dk. You can also get assistance with self-service at borger.dk by phoning 1881 or +45 70101881.

If it is not possible for you to use the on-line self-service facility, you can get assistance from your local authority's citizen service. Find your local authority's Citizen Service.