A majority in the Danish Parliament has approved a new agreement that will increase the salaries of politicians while simultaneously worsening their pension conditions. The agreement, reached on Tuesday, has already drawn criticism from both center-right and left-wing opposition parties who deem the self-awarded pay raise inappropriate.

The agreement, supported by the government, the Socialist People’s Party, the Liberal Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, the Danish Social Liberal Party, and The Alternative, stipulates that the new salary structure will only apply to newly elected politicians.

Under the new rules, the annual income for a member of parliament will rise from DKK 948,000 to DKK 1,080,000, while ministers’ salaries will increase from DKK 1,702,000 to DKK 2,016,000. The new salary for members of parliament is equivalent to that of a department head in a ministry.

In addition to the salary increase, future politicians will no longer receive the civil service pension, which has long been criticized. Instead, they will receive 18.07 percent in pension, similar to state employees. The period during which a member of parliament can receive severance pay will be halved from two to one year.

Critics, such as Pelle Dragsted of the Danish Unity List and Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish People’s Party, acknowledge the worsened pension conditions but question why politicians should be “compensated” with a higher annual income. Messerschmidt finds the agreement “extremely problematic,” sending the “wrong signal” when many struggle financially.

The agreement also eliminates the tax-free expense allowance. While the changes are projected to save the state 20 percent of the current expenses for politicians’ remuneration, resulting in annual savings of DKK 30 million, these savings will not be fully realized until 2090, with no real savings until 2075.