Old age pension
The right to old age pension depends on whether you have been a permanent resident in the United Kingdom of Denmark (Greenland, Denmark, Faroe Islands) between reaching the age of 15 and your 65th birthday.
You shall work or live in Greenland and be recorded in the population register.
When your work ceases or you start to work in another country, or you move from Greenland, you will retain the pension entitlements that you earned in Greenland.
Special regulations apply within the United Kingdom of Denmark.
The old age pension comprises an old age pension amount plus three supplements that are not paid to old age pensioners who reside permanently outside Greenland.
The entitlement to a full old age pension requires at least 40 years permanent residence in the United Kingdom of Denmark between the ages of 15 and 65. If the period of residence is shorter, the pension will be correspondingly reduced. When a person who has taken early retirement changes to receiving an old age pension, the old age pension is paid by an amount that is the same number of one fortieths according to which the early retirement pension had been paid.
The old age pension is income-related.
Pensionable age and application for an old age pension
The age limit for an old age pension is 63 in 2008, 64 in 2009 and 65 as from 1 January 2010.
If you live in Greenland you must submit your application to the municipality where you live.
If you live in Pituffik in Greenland, your application shall be submitted to the Department of Families and Health [Departementet for Familie og Sundhed].
If you live in Greenland and apply for a pension from another Nordic country, you must submit your application to the Department of Families and Health.
Early retirement pension
The entitlement to old age pension depends on whether you have been a permanent resident in the United Kingdom of Denmark (Greenland, Denmark, Faroe Islands) for at least three years between reaching the age of 15 and your 65th birthday.
The early retirement pension is income-related. You will however receive a minimum amount irrespective of the size of your taxable income.
The early retirement pension comprises an early retirement pension amount plus two supplements that are not paid to early retirement pensioners who reside permanently outside Greenland.
The entitlement to a full early retirement pension is dependent on the period of residence within the United Kingdom of Denmark making up at least 5/6 of the residence period from the date of reaching the age of 15 to the time when the early retirement pension is granted.
If the period of residence is shorter, the early retirement is reduced accordingly.
Age limit and application for early retirement pension
An early retirement pension can be granted to persons between the age of 18 and the age limit for an early retirement pension.
An early retirement pension can however be granted to persons below the age of 18 if the applicant has a maintenance liability for a spouse, registered partner or child(ren).
An early retirement pension can be granted to persons whose ability to work is reduced by physical, mental or social reasons. Before an early retirement pension can be granted, the municipality shall have endeavoured to rehabilitate the person concerned.
If you live in Greenland you must submit your application to the municipality where you live.
If you live in Pituffik in Greenland, your application shall be submitted to the Department of Families and Health.
If you live in Greenland and apply for a pension from another Nordic country, you must submit your application to the Department of Families and Health.
The entitlement to an early retirement pension starts on the 1st of the month after an application has been submitted and the required conditions are fulfilled. The recipient of an early retirement pension is obliged to notify the municipality or the county council if changes occur in personal or economic conditions that can require that the early retirement pension granted shall be regulated or denied.
Persons who receive an early retirement pension will go over to an old age pension without the need to submit an application.