Average life expectancy for men and women in the UK has fallen following the pandemic, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The UK’s life expectancy at birth dropped from 79.3 years for men and 83.0 years for women in 2017–19 to 78.6 years for men and 82.6 years for women in 2020–2022. In addition, during the same period, the life expectancy at age 65 decreased by 15 weeks for women and 22 weeks for men.
Life expectancy at birth has returned to slightly below the 2010–2012 level for males and to the levels of 2010–2012 for women after decades of consistent growth.
AJ Bell says the next government should seriously consider reevaluating state pension age rises, especially in light of the additional strain on the system. These estimates do not account for projected future increases in life expectancy.
AJ Bell director of public policy Tom Selby says: “For decades it was taken as a given that life expectancy would continue increasing for each generation. However, even prior to the pandemic, life expectancy improvements had ground to a halt, and now the numbers are going backwards. This undoubtedly reflects the devastating impact of Coronavirus and will make it even more difficult for the next government to attempt to save some cash by hiking the state pension age.
“Under current legislation, the state pension age is set to increase to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046. However, the previous government stated its intention to bring forward the planned increase to age 68 to 2039 – although this was before the pandemic.
“Rumours of proposals to accelerate the rise in the state pension age, potentially to age 68 by the 2030s, surfaced again last year, but ministers eventually decided this would be too controversial and pushed the decision onto the next government.
“Bringing forward the scheduled hike in the state pension age to 68 for millions of Brits would raise billions of pounds for the Treasury, but it would also be deeply unpopular. While the ageing population continues to place huge strain on the public finances, these latest figures would make it extremely difficult for any government – either now or in the future – to justify a faster increase in the UK state pension age.”
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