The minister for pensions said the issue of life expectancy and state pension age would be reviewed (Image: PLSA)
Future rises to the state pension age may need to be reviewed as Brits face a slowing down in life expectancy, pension minister Torsten Bell has admitted. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at birth for men between 2021 and 2023 in England fell by 1.7 years, and in Wales by 1.1 years, when compared to the years between 2017 and 2019. For women, it fell by 1.9 years in England and 2.2 years in Wales.
The fall has triggered a debate about raising the age, which will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and then to 68 after 2044. Speaking to the Express at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s annual investment conference in Edinburgh this week, Bell denied life expectancy was falling but said it was not growing by as much as it had in the past.
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He said: “The rise longevity is falling, in that it’s not rising as fast as we would all like.”
He said the next review of the age, due in 2029, may have to take into account what Bell said was a “lack of growth in longevity”.
He said that for some groups in the UK, life expectancy was falling, while for others, it was plateauing.
“It is something people should be thinking about, but we should be thinking about it. That’s not just a pensions issue. It’s about our health system, it big problem for the country.”
Bell said the issue was concerning, adding: “It is a slow down of the pace of progress, not an actual going backwards. But that still counts as a big backslide.”
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What is life expectancy in the UK?
Men in the UK are not living as long as they were before the pandemic period, which spanned between 2017 and 2019. In more than 80 % of Great Britain, female life expectancy was lower.
- The 10 highest local areas for life expectancy were in the south of England; the 10 lowest were in Scotland, in the north of England and in Wales.
- The 10 highest local area female life expectancies at birth were also all located in the south of England; the 10 lowest were mostly in Scotland.
- In England, the lowest life expectancy across local areas was in Blackpool, where it was 73.1 years for men and 78.9 for women.
- The highest life expectancy in England could be found in Hart for men, who can expect to live for an average of 83.4 years, and in Kensington and Chelsea for women, where it was 86.5.
- In Scotland, the lowest life expectancy across local areas was in Glasgow City at 73.6 years for men and 78.3 for women.
- The highest life expectancy north of the border was in East Renfrewshire at 81 for men and 84.5 for women.
- In Wales, the lowest life expectancy across local areas was in Merthyr Tydfil for males at 75.4 and Blaenau Gwent for women at 79.
- On the other hand, the highest life expectancy for both men, at 80.4, and women at 83.9, was in Monmouthshire.