Pension savings

See your pension savings

You can see your current savings and your expected pension payouts at AP Pension by logging on to Min Pension (in Danish only). If you have Mobil AP on your phone, you can also see these figures in the app.

If you have a pension scheme with companies other than AP Pension, you can get a comprehensive overview of all your pensions, including public pensions, at pensionsinfo.dk.

Having pension savings in several places can be costly. However, you can easily combine these in one place. Find out more about the benefits of combining your pension by contacting us.

How much do you need to save for your pension?

AP Pension’s general recommendation is that you have a total income that corresponds to 80 percent of your previous income when you retire.

It is therefore a good idea to review your pension scheme regularly to ensure that you have enough savings. We recommend that you check your forecast at least every five years. The forecast shows how much you can expect to receive when you retire. You can check your pension scheme and see your expected payouts in My Pension.

If you are in doubt as to whether you are saving enough for a financially secure life in retirement, you can use Insurance and Pension Denmark’s pension meter to see where your savings are in relation to the general recommendations. You can also contact us for an advisory meeting. Arrange a pension meeting with us today.

At AP Pension, we invest your pension savings so you can get the best possible return and thus the largest possible pension pot. Find out more about pension investment and see what this means for your savings.

How payments are made to your pension savings

If you have a pension scheme through your work, a percentage of your salary is paid into your pension every month. Generally, your employer pays some, while you pay the rest yourself, which is deducted from your salary before tax.

If you are in doubt about what will be paid into your pension scheme, you can log on to Min Pension (Danish content only) and see the details under “Overblik”.

You can choose to increase your pension contributions by notifying the payroll office at your workplace and AP Pension. However, you cannot generally choose to pay a smaller proportion of your salary than is set out in your contract by your employer.

Choose between three types of savings

At AP Pension you can choose between three types of pension savings: retirement savings scheme, annuity pension scheme and life annuity.

If you have a retirement savings scheme, your savings will be paid out as a lump sum. However, you can choose to have your retirement savings paid out in monthly installments over a period of 10 to 30 years. By law, you can pay in a maximum of DKK 9,100 (2024) per year, after the AM contribution has been deducted. Once you are seven or less years away from reaching your state pension age, the amount increases to DKK 58,900 (2024).

If you have an annuity pension scheme, your savings are paid out in monthly installments over a period of 10 to 30 years. By law, you can make a maximum payment of DKK 63,100 (2024) per year, after the AM contribution has been deducted.

If you have a life annuity, you will receive a monthly pension from the date you retire and for the rest of your life. If you live for a long time, you may receive more in payouts than you have saved. However, if you do not live very long, you may receive less than you have saved. You can pay as much as you like into a lifetime annuity pension.

When can your pension be paid out?

When you can start receiving pension payouts is determined by when your pension scheme was set up and your state pension age.

If you have a pension scheme that was set up before January 1, 2018, you can retain your right to the younger payout age if you transfer it to a new pension scheme.

If your pension scheme has been set up through your employer, you can start payouts at the earliest after you have retired.

If you were born after December 31, 1970, your state pension age is expected to change, which means that your payout age will also change.

In this pension payout overview, you can see:

• The age at which you become eligible for a state pension
• When you can start to receive pension payouts
• The latest date on which you must start your pension payouts – depending on the type of pension

Do you have to pay tax on your pension savings?

If your employer contributes to your pension scheme, the contributions do not count as taxable income as they are deductible. If you have non-deductible insurance (e.g. a group scheme or health insurance) that your employer pays, you have to pay tax on the contribution to the non-deductible insurance.

In an annuity pension scheme, you can receive a maximum deduction of DKK 63,100 (2024) after the AM contribution has been deducted. In a life annuity, you receive a full deduction for the regular contributions.

There are no deductions for contributions to a retirement savings scheme. If you have a pension scheme through your work, you have to pay tax on your contributions to your retirement savings scheme. AP Pension does not pay the tax on your pension contribution, so the tax has to be paid from your salary.

If you pay the top tax rate while you are working, but only the basic tax rate when you retire, you will avoid tax.

If you are paying the top tax rate today, it is generally a good idea to make maximum contributions to an annuity pension scheme. If you pay more into your pension, the excess at AP Pension must be paid into a life annuity. You can always choose to transfer your annuity pension scheme to a life annuity at a later date, but you cannot do the reverse.

If you are not paying the top tax rate today and are expecting to receive the state pension supplement, it is generally a good idea to pay the maximum amount into a retirement savings scheme before you make contributions to an annuity pension scheme and then a life annuity.