The Office for National Statistics has said in its latest study: Living Longer: Is Age 70 The New Age 65?
..... that we are now living so much longer, and in so much better health that the Biblical lifespan of ‘three score years and ten’ (aged 70), has probably now become the age point, at which people should be allowed to retire on a state pension.
They predict that we are now expected to live well into our 80's, with good enough health, to continue working until we are aged 70. This is because back in the 1980's anyone who reached the age of 65, which was the then state retirement age for men (60 for women), could reasonably expect to live for around a further 15 years i.e to age 80.
Putting that in context, when the State Retirement Pension was created in January 1909, just five years before the First World War, men could expect to live another 15 years when they hit age 57, so age 72, and for women, when they hit age 60, they could expect to live to age 75. However in reality, such was the extremely heavy manual labour of much of the work, that many of the working class men, wouldn't get to reach the male pension qualifying age, which was 70, and even then, the pensions were subject to a means test.
However now, well 2017 when the latest figures were collated, men aged 70 and women aged 72 can still expect a further 15 years of life from those new base line ages. Fortunately, for these pensioners, they are also likely to be healthier at 70/72 than the 65-year-olds were four decades ago, and certainly than those back in 1909.
Its obvious from all this, that this study could well be used to persuade future UK governments to raise the state pension age even further, from the current age of 66 for both sexes. Even higher in fact than the age of 67 that its due to rise to in 2028. This is in marked contrast with France, where attempts to reform the state pension, where the qualifying age only recently was raised to age 62 have been met with strikes.
The ONS report said: ‘In the UK, 65 years of age has traditionally been taken as the marker for the start of older age, most likely because it was the official retirement age for men and the age at which they could draw their state pension. In terms of working patterns, age 65 years as the start of older age is out of date. There is no longer an official retirement age, state pension age is rising, and increasing numbers of people work past the age of 65.’
‘Longer lives mean people can continue to contribute for longer – through longer working lives, volunteering, and possibly providing care for family members, for example, grandchildren. For individuals it might mean the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends and to pursue personal interests with more time for leisure activities.'
However it cautions that ‘More older people means increased demand for health and adult social services, and increased public spending on state pensions. The key to shifting the balance from challenge towards opportunity ... is for older people to be able to live healthy lives for as long as possible.’
Our longer and healthier lives bring challenges and opportunities, it adds, with the prediction that in 50 years time, men will be likely to live to age 90 and women 92, putting the 15-year retirement line at ages 75 and 77 respectively. There are provisos around all these predictions, with the report cautioning that there is no guarantee life expectancy and health levels will continue to improve.
In fact the elephant in the room in the report, is the lack of assurance that with longer lives comes with continued working health. What benefit extra life, if its in a nursing home?
However, assuming that at age 70, men and women will still have an expectation of a further 15 and 16 years of reasonable retirement in front of them, then it appears that most people can expect that soon the UK state retirement age, and what's the common definition of old age, will be changed to the age of 70 years.
Now I took the decision to retire before reaching the state pension age, because of the current uncertainty over my future longevity .... however, it seems that in the future, only those on the public sector final salary pensions, will be normally able to have that option of retiring before the state retirement age, and even that select group will likely not be able to do so in the very near future, as tax payers demand that those schemes are stopped or revised to ensure fairness.
So in a way what's good news on the longevity front .... is possibly bad news on the early retirement front.
 |
| The Report Paints A Rosy Picture Of Life Past 70 ........ |
..... that we are now living so much longer, and in so much better health that the Biblical lifespan of ‘three score years and ten’ (aged 70), has probably now become the age point, at which people should be allowed to retire on a state pension.
They predict that we are now expected to live well into our 80's, with good enough health, to continue working until we are aged 70. This is because back in the 1980's anyone who reached the age of 65, which was the then state retirement age for men (60 for women), could reasonably expect to live for around a further 15 years i.e to age 80.
Putting that in context, when the State Retirement Pension was created in January 1909, just five years before the First World War, men could expect to live another 15 years when they hit age 57, so age 72, and for women, when they hit age 60, they could expect to live to age 75. However in reality, such was the extremely heavy manual labour of much of the work, that many of the working class men, wouldn't get to reach the male pension qualifying age, which was 70, and even then, the pensions were subject to a means test.
However now, well 2017 when the latest figures were collated, men aged 70 and women aged 72 can still expect a further 15 years of life from those new base line ages. Fortunately, for these pensioners, they are also likely to be healthier at 70/72 than the 65-year-olds were four decades ago, and certainly than those back in 1909.
 |
| Many Suspect The Retirement Age Will Rise Again .... |
Its obvious from all this, that this study could well be used to persuade future UK governments to raise the state pension age even further, from the current age of 66 for both sexes. Even higher in fact than the age of 67 that its due to rise to in 2028. This is in marked contrast with France, where attempts to reform the state pension, where the qualifying age only recently was raised to age 62 have been met with strikes.
 |
| Euro Pensions By GDP ..... |
The ONS report said: ‘In the UK, 65 years of age has traditionally been taken as the marker for the start of older age, most likely because it was the official retirement age for men and the age at which they could draw their state pension. In terms of working patterns, age 65 years as the start of older age is out of date. There is no longer an official retirement age, state pension age is rising, and increasing numbers of people work past the age of 65.’
‘Longer lives mean people can continue to contribute for longer – through longer working lives, volunteering, and possibly providing care for family members, for example, grandchildren. For individuals it might mean the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends and to pursue personal interests with more time for leisure activities.'
However it cautions that ‘More older people means increased demand for health and adult social services, and increased public spending on state pensions. The key to shifting the balance from challenge towards opportunity ... is for older people to be able to live healthy lives for as long as possible.’
Our longer and healthier lives bring challenges and opportunities, it adds, with the prediction that in 50 years time, men will be likely to live to age 90 and women 92, putting the 15-year retirement line at ages 75 and 77 respectively. There are provisos around all these predictions, with the report cautioning that there is no guarantee life expectancy and health levels will continue to improve.
In fact the elephant in the room in the report, is the lack of assurance that with longer lives comes with continued working health. What benefit extra life, if its in a nursing home?
 |
| UK State Pension Age Keeps Rising ..... |
However, assuming that at age 70, men and women will still have an expectation of a further 15 and 16 years of reasonable retirement in front of them, then it appears that most people can expect that soon the UK state retirement age, and what's the common definition of old age, will be changed to the age of 70 years.
Now I took the decision to retire before reaching the state pension age, because of the current uncertainty over my future longevity .... however, it seems that in the future, only those on the public sector final salary pensions, will be normally able to have that option of retiring before the state retirement age, and even that select group will likely not be able to do so in the very near future, as tax payers demand that those schemes are stopped or revised to ensure fairness.
 |
| Many Will Be Doing This, Before Ever Getting A State Pension. |
So in a way what's good news on the longevity front .... is possibly bad news on the early retirement front.
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