Pension reform necessary: government
More than 10 million people in the United Kingdom — or 17 per cent of the population — can expect to live to see their 100th birthday, according to the U.K. government. Three million are currently under 16, 5.5 million are between 16 and 50 and 1.3 million are between 51 and 65. Around 875,000 are already older than 65.
“These staggering figures really bring home how important it is to plan ahead for our later lives. Many millions of us will be spending around one-third of our lives or more in retirement in the future,” said Minister of Pensions Steve Webb. “That’s why we are reforming the pension system to make it sustainable for the long term, making sure people can look forward to a decent state pension when they retire and helping millions save into a workplace pension, many for the first time.”
In 2066, there will be at least half a million people aged 100 or over, based on the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics population projections and life expectancy estimates. These centenarians will include nearly 7,700 super centenarians, aged 110 or over.