When it comes to welfare policies, many in the UK often look to Scandinavia with envy. Sweden, for instance, offers 480 days of shared parental benefit per child, and Denmark subsidises at least 75 per cent of nursery costs.

Such benefits seem generous when compared with the UK, and are at the heart of Nordic societies’ values. Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said in her New Year’s address last year: “Our foundation is strong. Trust. Communities rooted in commitment. Humour and cooperation. And a few more: determination and, of course, our welfare society.” 

As ministers in Britain consider sweeping welfare reforms, UK officials are looking at systems in other countries including Denmark.

Denmark’s disability pension in particular, is one model which the UK government is studying as a possible means of getting young people back into work.

“I believe there are aspects the UK could learn from,” said Lyndsay Jensen, 53, a British mother living in Denmark with her 22-year-old son, Bjørn, who has disabilities. However, she warned: “Denmark should not be presented as a perfect model.”

How Denmark’s disability pension works

In 2013, there were major reforms to Denmark’s disability pension and flexi-job system. This included generally restricting disability pension for people under 40 to exceptional cases, and expanding its flexible job programme. 

The reforms were designed “to try and stop people with health conditions from moving onto a permanent pension, incentivise private business to hire these individuals, and increase productivity”, Dr Philip McHale, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Public Health at Liverpool University, said. 

Now Denmark’s Førtidspension, or disability pension, is an income-replacement benefit for people whose capacity to work has been permanently and significantly reduced by illness or injury.

For people over 40, disability pension is generally awarded when an assessment declares that their work capacity is permanently reduced to the point that they cannot work in a normal job or flexi-job (or ), which is a publicly subsidised job at reduced hours each week.

Disability pension is generally available from 40 until state pension age.

In 2026, the full monthly pension is DKK 22,053 before tax for a single person and DKK 18,745 for someone married or cohabiting, although individual circumstances can affect the amount received.

However, for those under 40, access is generally restricted to exceptional circumstances –  and that restriction is what has caught the attention of UK policymakers. Instead, Danish under-40s are given help with flexible jobs and training unless they have no ability permanently to work.

“The argument was that society was letting down young people by allowing them to be placed on passive income such as Førtidspension even if they had reduced work capacity,” says Claus Hansen, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Aalborg University. “Everyone should reap the benefits of being employed and hence having a more active social life.”

How successful have the measures been?

McHale said Denmark had the highest employment rate among people with health limitations in the EU-15, at around 75 per cent compared with 56 per cent, and the UK’s 54 per cent.

He added that the gap in employment between the disabled population and those who were not disabled, was nearly 30 per cent in the UK and around 20 per cent in Denmark.

“Reforms have been shown to improve employment outcomes under the fleksjobs scheme,” he said. But the evidence is far from straightforward. 

For example, although restricting access to the disability pension for younger people was associated with improved rates of disability employment in Denmark, he emphasised that this was part of a suite of reforms and was done in a system with lots of support.

McHale said it was Denmark’s adequate benefits, combined with strong labour market approaches to support individuals into work and the flexibility of jobs which had led to Danish success.  

One study found the Danish reforms did not increase employment of people with disabilities and led to increased risk of poverty. Another found the reforms decreased economic inactivity for people with severe mental health problems. McHale, however, said both were limited by insufficient data.

There are also mixed opinions on the reforms among the Danes. Some argue that the assessment process is incredibly stressful. Others, however, say they have encouraged people who “are not able to participate in the labour market without state subsidies” to develop a degree of work capacity. 

Jensen, who has lived in Rønnede, a town in eastern Denmark, with her son since 2008, told The i Paper that experiences of disability pension in Denmark “vary considerably,” especially among those who are under 40.

“For some, receiving a disability pension brings financial stability and relief after years of illness or uncertainty,” Jensen, who founded the disability accessibility scheme Changing Places Denmark, said.

“For others, the process of proving permanent incapacity can be lengthy, stressful and emotionally exhausting. The wider Danish disability debate has increasingly focused on municipal decision-making, legal rights and the difficulties families face obtaining appropriate support.”

Could it work in Britain?

In a recent review of international disability benefits, a UK government  found that a similar system could be implemented in the UK, if spending could be increased. Denmark allocates around 2 per cent of GDP to active labour market programmes, compared to the UK’s 0.3 per cent. “Without increased investment, similar outcomes are unlikely,” it said.

Denmark’s is different from the UK’s disability-related benefits, which all serve unique purposes. These include Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and health-related universal credit Support.

PIP helps with the additional costs of disability regardless of employment status.

ESA is closer to because it provides financial support when illness or disability restricts your ability to work, however, ESA does not require you to prove that your incapacity is permanent.

Universal credit is a means-tested benefit designed to help people on low incomes with general living costs, including housing costs where eligible, and if you have a health condition, a Work Capability Assessment may determine if you have Limited Capability for Work or Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity. However, this isn’t a dedicated disability pension.

McHale said the approach to disability welfare reforms in Britain had been to increase “conditionality” – or eligibility for and adequacy of support offered. 

“Meanwhile the support available is much more adequate in Denmark,” he said. “It would be wrong to assume the same effects of specific Danish reforms would be seen in the UK as the supporting structure, wider benefit system and underlying labour market conditions are different between the two.

“Denmark combines labour market flexibility with strong social protections and active labour market policies, and the programme of subsidised employment for those with work limitations.”

Demark didn’t just restrict access to disability benefits for the under 40s, as was being suggested in the UK. The country completely reformed how it administered disability benefits, and without this, there would be a “very different effect” in the UK, he said.

He added: “Introducing the same policy in the UK would likely have a different effect for employment and poverty in the disabled population. This is particularly concerning as disabled people are more likely to be in poverty and out of work than the non-disabled population.”

Jensen said the principle of providing reliable financial security to people who could not work because of permanent disabilities was something that could inspire other countries.

However, she warned that Denmark was not a perfect model. “Any country considering similar reforms should focus on reducing unnecessary assessments, recognising lifelong disabilities and ensuring that financial support is matched by accessible, reliable care services.”

She pointed to a recent investigation –  (The Forgotten Families) – which had highlighted “serious concerns about municipal handling of disability cases, including allegations of unlawful decisions and families losing trust in the authorities”.

She said that, although the investigation concerned disability support rather than disability pensions specifically, it reflected a wider concern about whether the system consistently delivered the protections it promised.

“As a parent, I recognise that frustration,” she said. “Families become care coordinators, advocates and sometimes almost legal advisers simply to secure the support their children need. Disability pension can provide vital financial security, but it cannot compensate for shortcomings in care or the wider support system.”

While Jensen has the confidence and experience to advocate for her son, not everyone in Denmark does. “A person’s access to appropriate support should not depend on how effectively their family can argue their case,” she said.

Regardless of what the UK decides to do next, Jensen urges policymakers to remember: “The success of any disability system should be measured not simply by how much money it provides, but by whether disabled people can live safe, dignified and fulfilling lives without constantly having to prove they deserve support.”