Drop in ‘healthy life expectancy’ risks creating ‘growing chasm’ of years in poor health before state pensions kick in
Pensions & benefits Mortality, longevity and demographic modelling Demographics
New figures published today by the Office for National Statistics show a sharp drop in the (self-reported) ‘healthy life expectancy’ of the population.
ONS find, for the period 2022-24:
- Males in the UK could expect to spend 60.7 years (77% of life) in "good" general health, compared with 60.9 years (73%) for females; these were decreases of 1.8 and 2.5 years, respectively, compared with the last non-overlapping period (2019 to 2021).
- Despite modest increases in life expectancy since 2019 to 2021, healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth in the UK, for both males and females, decreased to its lowest level since our time series began in 2011 to 2013.
At the same time, state pension ages have been increasing, rising from 65 in 2018 to 66 in 2020 and set to rise again to 67 in 2028. Further increases are expected to be recommended as part of the current independent review of State Pension Age being conducted by Dr Suzy Morrissey for the government.
Commenting on the trends, Stuart McDonald, Head of Longevity at LCP, said: “Today’s figures confirm that the nation’s health has not yet recovered from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Healthy Life Expectancy has fallen sharply in recent years and is now at the lowest levels recorded since the data series began in 2011-13. These numbers should be a wake-up call. The cost of ill health is rising. Increased investment in keeping people well for longer would be to the benefit of individuals, the NHS, the taxpayer and the economy.”
LCP Partner Steve Webb added: “Fiscal pressures are leading governments around the world to hike state pension ages, but this risks creating a growing chasm of years in poor health before the state pension kicks in. Benefit support for people under pension age is very meagre, and substantially below the rates available to pensioners. The Government needs to tread very carefully in making further changes to state pension ages, to avoid the risk of condemning growing numbers of people to living on the breadline for years in the run-up to drawing a state pension.”
