How come ATP is a mandatory scheme?
Mandatory contributions to ATP help to ensure that all old-age pensioners enjoy basic, lifelong financial security and independence regardless of gender, health status or former occupation. And that this can be provided without passing on a massive tax bill to the next generation.
Can I make extra contributions to ATP?
No, you cannot make individual payments to ATP. ATP is a statutory scheme and part of the basic pension cover in Denmark.
Where can I check on my pension status?
At PensionsInfo (requires a login), you can access a complete overview of your pensions. If you would like to find out more about pensions, visit ATP's Danish pension universe at pensionforalle.dk. Here, you can learn more about pensions and do your bit to influence public debate on pension issues.
Why can't we just consolidate all pension schemes or hand ATP over to the labour-market pension schemes?
More than 3.0m members contribute to their ATP pension, while only 2.2m contribute to labour market pension. This makes the ATP scheme crucial in ensuring that occupationally and financially less-advantaged groups benefit from the evolution of the pension system.
This means that each year, 0.8m people save for their retirement only via ATP Livslang Pension (Lifelong Pension). These people include the unemployed, the sick, those who are on maternity/paternity leave or who are in jobs with no labour-market pension cover.
The Danish labour market is highly dynamic. Hundreds of thousands of employees move in and out of jobs over the course of their working lives. For these very large groups on the labour market, it is particularly important to have ATP as a stable cornerstone for future pension benefits.
Will ATP Livslang Pension (Lifelong Pension) be adjusted when ATP achieves positive financial results?
The aim is for ATP pensions to retain their real value, and for it to be possible to adjust them on an ongoing basis to keep track with prices and – ideally – wages. With sufficiently large reserves, this will be achievable.
It is, however, true that in spite of particularly positive results, ATP Livslang Pension (Lifelong Pension) has not been adjusted in recent years. This is mainly because ATP has set aside substantial additional funds to cover the current increase in life expectancy.
Just 20 years ago, 65-year-olds in Denmark could expect to live a further 16.5 years on average. Today, that figure has increased to just over 20 years, representing a 25 per cent rise. Basically, this means that pensions have become more expensive.
In recent years, ATP has set aside considerable amounts to cover this additional expense. We have an obligation to make this provision, and if we failed to do so, it would mean passing massive bills on to future generations.
In 2010, ATP set aside no less than DKK 18bn to allow for future life-expectancy increases. This substantially improves ATP's ability to adjust pensions in the future.
