Supplementary Pension Benefits
Tillægsydelser til folkepension
Coverage
- Persons residing legally in Denmark who have reached the statutory retirement age for the state pension and cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence.
Financing
- The scheme is tax-financed from the general budget.
Administration
- Payment Denmark (Udbetaling Danmark) handles the tasks related to fixed flat-rate benefits.
- Payment Denmark (Udbetaling Danmark) decides on the size of the personal supplement percentage (Personlig tillægsprocent), which depends on liquid assets (such as cash, money market instruments and payments from occupational and private pension schemes).
- The city council (Kommunalbestyrelsen) and the municipality (Kommunen) handle the tasks concerning benefits dependent on the personal supplement percentage.
Qualifying Conditions
- The person must have reached the statutory retirement age for the state pension.
- The person must legally reside in Denmark.
- The person must apply for supplement benefits.
- The benefits are means-tested and target the poorest pensioners without significant liquid assets.
- The income basis for pension supplements, heating supplement, health supplement and media cheque are calculated on the basis of the pensioner's and any spouse’s or cohabitant's total income (excluding assets such as personal property).
- The elderly cheque is conditional on entitlement to the state pension, the personal supplement percentage and liquid assets.
Benefits
- Fixed, flat-rate benefits include the personal supplement (Personligt tillæg), the heating supplement (Varmetillæg), the petroleum supplement (Petroliumstillæg), the media cheque (Mediecheck), and the elderly cheque (Ældrecheck). Benefits are paid out monthly together with the state pension, with the exception of the media and the elderly cheque, which are paid yearly as a lump sum.
- The following benefits are provided as a subsidy or reimbursement and the amount depends on the personal supplement percentage: health supplement (Helbredstillæg), extended health supplement (Udvidet Helbredstillæg), dental treatment (tilbud på tandbehandling), reimbursements in connection with treatment costs upon request (anmodning om refusion i forbindelse med udgifter til behandling), optician/ophthalmologist (specificeret overslag fra optiker/øjenlæge), dental prosthetic treatment (overslag til tandprotetisk behandling).
- The size of the personal supplement percentage depends on earnings-related income after reaching the retirement age. There are different rates for singles and couples. The personal supplement percentage determines the size of supplementary benefits.
- Most benefits are not subject to income tax, with the exception of the elderly cheque, which is taxed as personal income.
Coverage
Financing
Administration
Qualifying Conditions
Benefits
- Persons residing legally in Denmark who have reached the statutory retirement age for the state pension and cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence.
- The scheme is tax-financed from the general budget.
- Payment Denmark (Udbetaling Danmark) handles the tasks related to fixed flat-rate benefits.
- Payment Denmark (Udbetaling Danmark) decides on the size of the personal supplement percentage (Personlig tillægsprocent), which depends on liquid assets (such as cash, money market instruments and payments from occupational and private pension schemes).
- The city council (Kommunalbestyrelsen) and the municipality (Kommunen) handle the tasks concerning benefits dependent on the personal supplement percentage.
- The person must have reached the statutory retirement age for the state pension.
- The person must legally reside in Denmark.
- The person must apply for supplement benefits.
- The benefits are means-tested and target the poorest pensioners without significant liquid assets.
- The income basis for pension supplements, heating supplement, health supplement and media cheque are calculated on the basis of the pensioner's and any spouse’s or cohabitant's total income (excluding assets such as personal property).
- The elderly cheque is conditional on entitlement to the state pension, the personal supplement percentage and liquid assets.
- Fixed, flat-rate benefits include the personal supplement (Personligt tillæg), the heating supplement (Varmetillæg), the petroleum supplement (Petroliumstillæg), the media cheque (Mediecheck), and the elderly cheque (Ældrecheck). Benefits are paid out monthly together with the state pension, with the exception of the media and the elderly cheque, which are paid yearly as a lump sum.
- The following benefits are provided as a subsidy or reimbursement and the amount depends on the personal supplement percentage: health supplement (Helbredstillæg), extended health supplement (Udvidet Helbredstillæg), dental treatment (tilbud på tandbehandling), reimbursements in connection with treatment costs upon request (anmodning om refusion i forbindelse med udgifter til behandling), optician/ophthalmologist (specificeret overslag fra optiker/øjenlæge), dental prosthetic treatment (overslag til tandprotetisk behandling).
- The size of the personal supplement percentage depends on earnings-related income after reaching the retirement age. There are different rates for singles and couples. The personal supplement percentage determines the size of supplementary benefits.
- Most benefits are not subject to income tax, with the exception of the elderly cheque, which is taxed as personal income.
Legal Basis: Social Pensions Act (Bekendtgørelse af lov om social pension).