Age-graded pension contributions were lawful

Case no. 1/2015
Judgment delivered on 12 November 2015

HK/Danmark acting for A
vs.
Experian A/S
Intervener for Experian A/S: The Ministry of Employment

The case concerned whether Experian A/S's age-graded pension contributions were in contravention of the prohibition against age discrimination in section 2 of the Danish Discrimination Act, or whether they were covered by the exemption in section 6a of the Act. The amount of both the employees' own and the employer's pension contributions depended on the age of the individual employee. The older the employee, the higher the pension contribution.

In connection with the High Court's hearing of the case, it had been referred to the EU Court of Justice.

The Supreme Court held that Experian A/S's pension scheme was appropriate and necessary to fulfil legitimate aims, and that it systematically and consistently pursued such legitimate aims. In addition, the scheme did not go beyond what was necessary to achieve the aims.

The High Court had reached the same conclusion.