Residents of Norway are encouraged to work longer: the retirement age has been increased

Deputy leader of the Conservative Party Henrik Asheim, in an interview with the Norwegian publication VG, said that conservatives, liberals and Christian Democrats had been coming to a common change in the upcoming pension system for a long time.

“We will increase the general age limit for civil servants and other members of the Norwegian Civil Service Pension Fund from 70 to 72 years. This means that the age limit for government employees will be the same as for private sector employees,” the official explained.

The agreement also notes that measures should be explored to facilitate continued work beyond the normal age limits set by the Government’s Age Limits Act and the Working Environment Act, including an assessment of age limits within the company.

The core elements of the pension system are to be locked in for ten years, meaning people will have to work longer. A scheme for so-called “toilers” will also be introduced, which will gradually increase compared to 1964, also known as “sliterordningen”, NTB reports.

Several unions, such as LO, Spekter, Unio, YS and Akademikerne, told VG that they were satisfied with the broad coalition around the pension settlement.

Let us explain: a pension agreement is an agreement between several political parties on how the pension system in the country should work. The country has come to the conclusion of a new retirement age because people are living longer and healthier than before.

“The idea is that if we live longer, we can also work a little longer. This helps maintain the stability of the pension system so that there is enough money for everyone who needs it,” the official comments.

Norway’s “struggle scheme” is a special part of the pension system that helps people who have had physically demanding jobs and who may not be able to work as long as others. This scheme gives them a little extra money if they have to retire early due to health reasons. Although this agreement concerns pensions that may seem distant to young people, it is important because it lays the foundation for what the pension system will look like in the future. This impacts how today’s young people will be able to retire when the time comes.

Let us remember that the first to think about the change were the conservatives. They proposed increasing the general age limit for employees in the state. The government then rejected the proposal.

“More people should expect to work longer. This is an important and predictable step we are taking to address our aging population. It also says something about how we as a society view older workers, so it’s important to many,” explains Conservative Party deputy leader Asheim.

At the same time, some officials offer a little self-criticism:

“The system was overly rigid and US politicians often pointed the finger at it, but now we can remove that finger. It also helps the employer and employee to establish a different relationship that is healthier and more sustainable both economically and socially for the society,” said a ruling party official.

Minister of Labor and Social Inclusion Tonje Brenna said in a statement to VG about the pension settlement: “I welcome this historic and broad political consensus for a fairer pension system. The agreement illustrates that we can build strong majorities around solutions that are good for people and that can last over time.”

Brenna believes that this is not a savings reform, but steps that will ensure fairer pensions for people and predictability of the pension system for the coming years:

At the same time, Asheim explains that it will be important to maintain the right to work after reaching the special age limit for those professions that have special age restrictions.

“We live longer and become healthier as we age. Then we must make provisions for those who want to stay in work longer. The Liberals are pleased with the breakthrough in increasing the retirement protection limit in the state to 72 years of age and that the obligation to retire under special age limits will not be reintroduced, as the government would like,” emphasizes deputy party leader Sveinung Rotevatn in a conversation with VG.

A sixty-three-year-old man noted, “A pension is an acquired right, and this was an important argument for us. At the same time, we wanted to increase the minimum pension, which no one had heard of here.”