Norway: Pension Reform Agreement Supports Older Workers

Norway's center-left government and opposition parties reached a compromise on pension reforms that are intended to encourage older workers to stay in employment longer and to make pensions fair and sustainable. Among other things, future pension options will include retirement at age 62, but there are strong incentives to continue until age 70. According to an article by Aftenposten's Norwegian reporter Sigurd Bjørnestad, the agreement keeps Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's pension reform promise to give everyone more was more or less intact.

The new system is complex, with many new pros and cons, with the clearest perhaps being the ability to choose between a longer retirement on less of a pension, and working long to guarantee a more comfortable, though shorter, retirement. A key change is the ability to work as much as one likes after retirement without losing pension benefits.

Source: Aftenposten "Pension reform agreed" (March 22, 2007)

Other Sources: Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion The Pension Reform