Three years before you plan to retire, you should plan how you want to have your pension savings paid out. That way, your benefits will best fit your needs throughout your life, and you will get the most out of your funds.

Your pension is more than just your savings. Today, many have several types of pension savings, and state retirement pension and ATP Livslang Pension should also be taken into account.

If you have an owner-occupied home with home equity, a part of this will in most cases be included in your pension assets. For example, you can take an equity release loan, which is a loan against the value of your home that you can use to supplement your everyday finances.

If you have securities, such as equities or bonds, or other cash funds, it may also make sense to include the value of these in your pension assets.

If you want to learn more about your options, we are ready to advise you on + 45 70 11 25 25.

Naturally, how much we need is individual. Most people want to continue leading the life they had before they retired. When making your budget, you should remember that your spending is more than just your fixed expenses and grocery shopping. Maybe you have a hobby you want to focus more on, you want to travel more or you want more household and gardening help.

If you anticipate expenses for bigger things, you should also consider when you need the money. This is a good indicator of whether you have saved up enough.

Generally, you will need about 80% of your final salary when you retire, as you save about 20% when you no longer make pension contributions, pay labour market contribution or membership fees to a trade union and an unemployment insurance fund.

You are charged administrative expenses for each of your pension schemes. It may be a good idea to check whether you can pool your pension schemes with one or a few pension providers.

A pension adviser can help you get an overview and plan your benefits to best fit your needs. Our recommendation takes into account your existing insurance covers or any attractive rights you may have, so that you do not lose them by pooling your pension schemes.

At www.pensionsinfo.dk, you can find a statement of your pension savings. As not all pension schemes are reported to the system, your statement may not show all relevant information, however.

This depends on what pension scheme you or your employer has chosen. If you want to learn more about your options, we are ready to advise you on + 45 70 11 25 25.

We can adjust the payout of your pension according to your needs. Generally, it is an advantage to use your cash funds before your pension savings, as these are not set off against public benefits. As we have a close collaboration with Danske Bank, we can advise you on this.

You can receive payouts from your capital pension scheme or your retirement savings scheme whenever it suits you. You can either contact us when you want a partial payout, or we can pay out a fixed amount every month. One advantage of partial payouts instead of a lump-sum payout is the attractive taxation of returns.

Danica Pension clearly recommends you to have most of your pension savings paid out as a life annuity, so that you are guaranteed a fixed income for the rest of your life.

According to the existing rules (1 January 2018), you can postpone payout as follows:

• You can postpone payout of your capital pension scheme and your retirement savings scheme until your 80th birthday.
• You can postpone your life annuity benefits until you want to start the payout. However, it is not always an advantage to postpone payout of a pension scheme. We therefore always recommend you to contact us to learn more about your options.
• You can postpone payout of your annuity pension until your 80th birthday. Annuity pension benefits must be paid out over a period of at least 10 years, and the entire amount of savings must be paid out before your 90th birthday. You also have the option to extend the payout period of your annuity pension or to change it into a life annuity.
• You can postpone your terminable annuity benefits until you want to start the payout.

There can be several advantages of postponing payout:

• Payouts may be set off against public benefits.
• We generally live longer. Maybe you will have a greater need for your savings later in life?
• By postponing payout, your pension savings can generate a return over a longer period of time, which may increase your payout.

It is completely up to you who is to receive your pension savings when you die. Appointing who is to receive your savings is also known as designating your beneficiary.

Generally, your next of kin will receive your savings. However, you can decide to designate other persons than your next of kin. In that case, you must notify us in writing.

You can see the designated beneficiary of your pension scheme in Netpension, where you can also change your designation if you want to do so.

You can learn more about next of kin and designation of beneficiaries here.

The Danish Inheritance Act is complex, and many people would benefit from drawing up a will. This can be an advantage, for example if you and your spouse want to secure each other financially in case of death. If you need legal advice, we recommend you to contact a family law specialist.

Learn more about the Danish rules on inheritance.