When Are You Too Old to Work and Too Young to Retire? Age Norms and the Danish Pension System

Cover of the publication “When Are You Too Old to Work and Too Young to Retire? Age Norms and the Danish Pension System.” The background is blue. At the top, the title appears in black text. Below the title, there is an image of an older woman sitting with her face in her hands, smiling. Below the image are the authors’ names: Christian Albrekt Larsen and Jeevitha Yogachandiran Qvist. At the bottom, logos for Aalborg University and the Knowledge Center for Retention of Seniors in the Labor Market are displayed
Contributors

Christian Albrekt Larsen, Aalborg Universitet, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3309-3018
Jeevitha Yogachandiran Qvist, Aalborg Universitet, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6508-8870

Keywords

Aldersnormer, Pensionssystem, Pension, Aldersgrænser, Økonomi, Beskæftigelse

Synopsis

This book is produced within the framework of the Knowledge Center for Retention of Seniors in the Labor Market. The center is funded by a government appropriation and administered by VIVE – The Danish Center for Social Science Research. The book builds on our research in the project SeniorArbejdsliv (2018–2026), which is funded by TrygFonden. Drafts of the book were read and commented on by colleagues at the Center for Comparative Welfare Studies at Aalborg University as well as two external reviewers. We thank them all for their insightful and constructive comments.
The authors alone are responsible for the analyses, interpretations, and any possible errors or omissions. Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to our research assistant, Alberte Frendrup, for her invaluable help throughout the process.

Chapters
  • Foreword
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Age Norms and the Pension System
  • Chapter 3: Data used
  • Chapter 4: The Population’s ‘Too Old’ Threshold
  • Chapter 5: The Population’s ‘Too Young’ Threshold
  • Chapter 6: Seniors’ Own Age Limits
  • Chapter 7: Employers’ Age Limits
  • Chapter 8: Practice Norms in Workplaces
  • Chapter 9: Change and Stability in Age Norms in Denmark
  • Appendix
  • References
References

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Author Biography
Christian Albrekt Larsen, Aalborg Universitet

Christian Albrekt Larsen (CAL) has specialised in the question of how to build social coherent societies in open economies and multicultural settings. The academic work of CAL demonstrates that the institutional structure behind the “Nordic model” still provides a promising answer to this fundamental question of social science. Internationally CAL is known for his work on how institutions, especially universal welfare schemes, enhance public support for anti-poverty policies and social trust. In 2006 CAL published “The institutional logic of welfare attitudes: How welfare regimes influence public support” (Ashgate 2006), which was followed by “The rise and fall of social cohesion. Constructing and de-constructing
social trust in the US, UK, Sweden and Denmark” (Oxford University Press, 2013). The issue of migration and assimilation into Northern European host countries is prominent in CALs current project portfolio. CAL published "Migrants' Attitudes and the Welfare State: The Danish Melting Pot" in 2021 (Edward Elgar, co-authored) and "Migrantss and Welfare States: Balancing Dilemmas in Northern Europe" in 2022 (Edward Elgar, editor). In the national Danish context CAL has contributed with two books about long term unemployment (2003, 2009, coauthored), two books about national identity and attitudes to migrants (2008, 2016), a book about the politics of welfare reforms (2004, co-authored) and a book about universalism (2015, co-authored). CAL has received a Danish Sapere Aude II research leader elite grant (2012-2015) and a Fulbright grant (2015-2016). CAL was a member of the Danish national research council for social science (2015 – 2021). 

How to Cite

Albrekt Larsen, C., & Yogachandiran Qvist, J. (2025). When Are You Too Old to Work and Too Young to Retire? Age Norms and the Danish Pension System. Aalborg University Open Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54337/aau.aldersnormer-pension