International Programs
Totalization Agreement with Denmark
Introduction
For Denmark, the Agreement covers the Social Pension and the Labour Market Supplementary Pension (ATP).
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Eliminating dual coverage for self-employment
Self-employed workers residing in the United States are assigned U.S. coverage. Self-employed workers residing in Denmark are assigned Danish coverage.
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Denmark certificates for employees and self-employed workers
Employers and self-employed workers must request a certificate of coverage to establish an exemption from U.S. Social Security contributions. Employees transferred from Denmark to the United States for three years or fewer retain Danish social security coverage.
Please mail your request to:
Udbetaling Danmark
International Pension & Social Security
Kongens Vaenge 8
DK-3400 Hillerød
DENMARK
Please provide the following information:
- Worker's full name (including maiden name);
- Worker's date of birth;
- Worker's place of birth;
- Worker's country of citizenship;
- Worker's country of permanent residence;
- Worker’s U.S. Social Security number;
- Worker's central personal registration (CPR) number, if applicable;
- Name, relationship, date of birth of family members accompanying the worker and their CPR numbers, if applicable;
- Date of hire, if employed;
- Country of hire, if employed;
- Nature of self-employment activity, if applicable;
- Name and address of the employer in the United States and the Agreement country (if self-employed, address of trade or business in both countries);
- Date of transfer and anticipated date of return of employment or self-employment in the Agreement country;
- Spouse first and last name;
- Denmark social security number (if known):
- Spouse date of birth; and
- All children’s first and last name; date of birth, and social security number (if known).
U.S. employers should retain certificates of coverage in case of an audit by the IRS. Employers should not send a copy to the IRS unless the IRS specifically requests the certificate of coverage.
Self-employed workers should attach a copy of the certificate of coverage to their U.S. tax return every year as proof of the exemption.
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Monthly benefits
Under the U.S. Social Security system, you can earn up to four work credits each year depending on the amount of your covered earnings. For example, in 2022, you receive one credit for each $1,410 of your covered annual earnings up to a maximum of four credits per year. The amount needed to earn a work credit goes up slightly each year. For more information, see How You Earn Credits (Publication No. 05-10072).
Under the Danish system, credits are measured in months. To simplify the information in the table, requirements are shown in years of credits.
Denmark pays benefits through a two-tiered program. The first tier, called the “Folkepension” (FP), pays flat-rate benefits to people who meet certain residence requirements. The second tier is an earnings-related program known as the Labour Market Supplementary Pension (ATP). The ATP pays benefits based on a worker’s contributions and the total years of coverage.
Early Pension
Starting on January 1, 2022, individuals can retire up to 1 year early with 42 years of employment from age 16 to age 61, 2 years early with 43 years of employment, or 3 years early with 44 years of employment.
The new pension is intended to aid lower-skilled workers who tend to enter the labor force earlier and have more physically demanding occupations.
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Retirement or old-age benefits |
|
United States |
Denmark |
Worker—Full benefit at full retirement age.* Reduced benefit as early as age 62. 1 ½ to 10 years of work credits required (10 years if age 62 in 1991 or later). |
Worker—Social Pension Program (FP)—Full basic pension amount at age 65 with 40 years of residence in Denmark between the ages of 15 and 65. A Danish national must have resided in Denmark for at least three years between age 15 and 65 to receive a partial benefit. If not a Danish national, must have resided in Denmark for at least 10 years between ages 15 and 65, and five years immediately prior to entitlement, or have been granted a Danish residence permit under article 7 or 8 of the Danish Aliens Act.** Labour Market Supplementary Pension (ATP)— Pension payable at full retirement age** to anyone who has contributed to the program. Wage-earners in Denmark ages 16 to 65 with more than nine hours of paid work per week pay ATP contributions. Early (Tidlig) Pension – Starting January 1, 2022, subject to income limits, an early (tidlig) pension is payable as little as one year (to as much as three years) under full retirement age. To qualify, workers must have a minimum number of years of employment subject to ATP contributions within an applicable working age range. |
*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
**Full retirement age for people born July 1, 1939, to January 1, 1959, is age 65. The full retirement age increases gradually until it reaches age 67 for people born June 30, 1960, or later.
Disability benefits |
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United States |
Denmark |
Worker—Under full retirement age* can get benefits if unable to do any substantial gainful work for at least a year. 1 ½ to 10 years of work credits required, depending on age at date of onset. Some recent work credits also needed unless worker is blind. |
Worker—FP—“Anticipatory Pension” (AP) plays the same role as disability and survivors pensions in most other countries. AP payments are “means-tested.” Danish nationals, foreigners with 10 years of residence between ages 18 and 65 (five in the last 10 years), refugees, employees and self-employed persons from European Union (EU) member states may be eligible for AP. |
*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
**[Text]
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Family benefits to dependents of retired or disabled people |
|
United States |
Denmark |
Spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for the worker’s entitled child under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early as age 62 if not caring for a child. |
Spouse or cohabiting partner—No provision. |
Divorced spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age.* Reduced benefit as early as age 62. Must be unmarried and have been married to worker for at least 10 years. |
Divorced spouse—No provision. |
Children—If unmarried, up to age 18 (age 19 if in an elementary or secondary school full time) or any age if disabled before age 22. |
Children—No provision. |
*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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Survivors benefits |
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United States |
Denmark |
Survivors benefits payable to the following categories: Surviving Spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for deceased’s entitled child under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early as age 60 (or age 50 if disabled) if not caring for a child. Benefits may be continued if remarriage occurs after age 60 (or age 50 if disabled). Divorced Surviving Spouse— Same as surviving spouse if marriage lasted at least 10 years. Children—Same as for children of retired or disabled worker. |
Surviving Spouse— FP—If a spouse or member of a cohabiting couple dies and both were receiving a Social Pension benefit, the surviving partner remains entitled to the full amount of both partners’ benefits for three months after the date of death. ATP—Surviving spouse/common-law spouse and children can become entitled to lump-sum ATP survivors benefits upon the member’s death. If the member contributed to the ATP prior to January 1, 2002, the surviving spouse (but not common-law spouse) and children under age 18 can qualify for a lump- sum benefit upon the member’s death, in spite of the age of the member when the member dies. If the member contributed to the ATP after December 31, 2001, the surviving spouse/common-law spouse, and children under age 21 may qualify for a lump-sum benefit, provided the member paid ATP contributions for at least two years. The common-law spouse can only become entitled to a lump-sum if the cohabitees have been registered with ATP. The lump-sum benefit for the surviving spouse/common-law spouse is reduced if the member dies between ages 66 to 70 and is not payable if the member dies after age 70. |
| Lump-sum death benefit—A one-time payment not to exceed $255 payable on the death of an insured worker to a spouse or minor children if they meet certain requirements. | Funeral benefit (means-tested)— Survivors may apply to Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health. Requirement for benefit: pensioner was a resident of Denmark, an EU member state, Liechtenstein or Switzerland at time of death. |
*The full retirement age for survivors is age 66 for people born in 1945-1956 and gradually increases to age 67 for people born in 1962 or later.
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How benefits can be paid
If you have social security credits in both the United States and Denmark, you may be eligible for benefits from one or both countries. If you meet all the basic requirements under one country’s system, you will get a regular benefit from that country. If you do not meet the basic requirements, the Agreement may help you qualify for a benefit as explained below.
- Benefits from the United States - If you do not have enough work credits under the U.S. system to qualify for regular benefits, you may be able to qualify for a partial benefit from the United States based on both United States and Danish credits. However, to be eligible to have your Danish credits counted, you must have earned at least six credits (generally 1 ½ years of work) under the U.S. system. If you already have enough credits under the U.S. system to qualify for a benefit, the United States cannot count your Danish credits.
- Benefits from Denmark - Denmark provides retirement, disability and other benefits through two separate programs.
- The Folkepension (“social”) pays flat-rate benefits to Danish nationals who have resided in Denmark for three years. The benefit amount is proportional to the number of years they have resided in Denmark and is unrelated to past earnings. People who are not Danish nationals, and still reside in Denmark, may also qualify for “social” benefits if they have resided in Denmark for at least 10 years, five years of which must be immediately before entitlement.
Under the Agreement, if you are a U.S. national, you can qualify for Danish “social” benefits if you have resided in Denmark for three years and have worked in Denmark for at least one year. (Before the Agreement, U.S. nationals needed at least 10 years, five of which were immediately before entitlement, and had to reside in Denmark to qualify. U.S. nationals residing in the United States could apply for old age pension from Denmark, if they resided in Denmark for 30 years after the age 15). - The Labour Market Supplementary Pension (ATP) pays benefits based on the worker’s contributions and total years of work. A person can qualify for an ATP benefit with as little as one month of ATP coverage. Therefore, work credits under the U.S. system will not be counted when determining eligibility for ATP benefits.
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Claims for benefits
If you live in the United States and wish to apply for United States or Danish benefits:
- Visit or write any U.S. Social Security office.
- Phone our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Friday. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.
- Complete SSA-2490-BK (Application for Benefits Under a U.S. International Social Security Agreement) and mail to your local Social Security Administration office.
If you live in Denmark and wish to apply for U.S. or Danish benefits, contact:
Federal Benefits Unit
United States Embassy
PO Box 4075 AMB
0244 Oslo
NORWAY - Any Danish social security office to file for U.S. or Danish benefits.
You can apply with one country and ask to have your application considered as a claim for benefits from the other country. Information from your application will then be sent to the other country. Each country will process the claim under its own laws counting credits from the other country when appropriate - and notify you of its decision.
If you have not applied for benefits before, you may need to provide certain information and documents when you apply. These include the worker’s U.S. Social Security number, the worker’s Danish CPR number, proof of age for all claimants, evidence of the worker’s U.S. earnings in the past 24 months and information about the worker’s coverage under the Danish system.
You may wish to call the social security office before you go there to see if you need any other information.
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Payment of benefits
Each country pays its own benefit. U.S. payments are made by the U.S. Department of Treasury each month and cover benefits for the preceding month. Payments under the Danish system are paid by direct deposit the last banking day of the month, covering benefits for that month. For more information, contact the Denmark authorities at the address in the section titled, “For more information.”
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For more information about Denmark's social security programs
For more information about Denmark’s social security programs, visit any social security office in Denmark.
- Visit skat.dk.
- If you do not live in Denmark, write to:
Udbetaling Danmark
International Pension & Social Security
Kongens Vaenge 8
DK-3400 Hillerød
DENMARK