ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the configuration and changes in the regulatory order of the early exit/retirement regime in Denmark. It addresses how the functioning of the labour market is in the course of being changed as a result of initiatives to stimulate employers to develop personal planning aimed at the older part of the workforce. The chapter focuses on how individuals perceive the relationship between ageing and work. As in most other European countries, demographic changes in Denmark have placed the problem of the ageing population at the top of the political agenda. In the period from the 1970s to the 1990s, Denmark has experienced high unemployment and high rates of early exit/retirement. Major efforts have been made to change the early exit/retirement patterns. These efforts have coincided with, first, a decline in unemployment, and second, a growing awareness of the threats from the ageing population, which may generate future pressure on public spending and a shortage of labour.
