International pension 53A

International employees with a foreign citizenship employed under the collective agreement for state-employed academics and with an engineering degree or a degree within the areas of either AkademikerPension or P+ (see below) may choose the international pension scheme according to section 53A of the Danish Pension Tax Act as an alternative to:

• The ordinary pension scheme
• Pension contributions paid out as salary 

Conditions

• You are employed within the area of one of the above pension funds
• You have a non-Danish citizenship

These international pension schemes according to section 53A apply to scientific as well as administrative /technical staff as opposed to pension paid as salary.

If you have already chosen to have your pension paid as salary or the ordinary pension scheme, you have the possibility of switching to the international pension scheme. Please note that DTU does not administer a change of your pension scheme retroactively.

Taxation
If you have an international pension scheme according to section 53A, 17.1% of your salary and pensionable supplements are reserved as pension. The pension is included in your taxable income, and the monthly pension contributions to the international pension scheme are taxed as salary according to your current taxation status upon payment from DTU to the pension fund.

First you will be taxed 8% in labour market contribution.

If you are covered by the researcher taxation scheme with a flat rate taxation of 27%, the remaining pension contributions (after deduction of labour market contribution) will be taxed at 27%.

If you are covered by the ordinary taxation rules, the remaining pension contributions (after deduction of labour market contribution) will be taxed at the appropriate rate according to your taxation status as stated in your tax card.

In return (as a main rule), you will not pay tax on your pension savings paid out by the pension fund at retirement.

Also, if you leave Denmark and choose to have your pension savings paid out cash before retirement, this payment is not subject to government duty.

If, however, due to special circumstances, you do not pay tax to the Danish state on payment of pension contributions to an international pension scheme according to section 53A, and you retire in Denmark, you should expect that payments from the pension fund at retirement will be taxed.

Pension is a very important matter, and DTU recommends that you obtain individual counselling from the relevant pension fund and from SKAT (the Danish tax authorities) regarding your pension taxation based on your specific circumstances. This information on DTU Inside does not constitute and cannot replace individual legal counselling. DTU strives to provide accurate pension information but cannot be held accountable for mistakes or shortcomings.