Size of Danish women’s pensions will soon overtake men’s – report

Jens and Niels are being outperformed in higher education … and now the workplace

Women who have entered the labour market in Denmark in the last decade are on track to having larger pensions than their male counterparts by the time they retire, reports Insurance & Pension Europe (IPE).

The findings are in contrast to today’s average earnings as men make 22 percent more than women, but the tide has been turning since the 1960s. 

“Young women have overtaken men in higher education. With education also comes higher wages and greater job security,” explained IPD chief executive, Kent Damsgaard, to ipe.com. 

IPE’s Danish division analysed the data of employer-administered and private pension savings from the Danish Research Institute for Economic Analysis and Modelling.

Different pension gaps nearby
On Monday, which was International Women’s Day, the Swedish Pensions Agency announced a less bright picture over the border. 

Across the bridge, women currently make 31 percent less than their male counterparts, though it is slowly shifting. 

In Sweden, women generally earn lower salaries than in Denmark, which results in lower pensions. 

Kristin Kirs, an analyst at the Swedish Pension Agency, explained: “If wages and time worked were equalised overnight, with ten years left to retire, they would only receive ten years of equalised pension payments.”