Increasing longevity

Not only has longevity improved over the last few centuries in the UK, but it is still increasing, by about 2% every year.

This means that as time goes on, our prospects of living even longer increase. In fact, by 2075, there will be over 1.2 million people aged 100 and over in the UK.*

The graph below highlights how life expectancy has been increasing over the last century, helped by advances in hygiene and medical science.

Source: ONS mortality statistics

So the evidence shows that many of us will live far longer than we expect.

Studies also show that many of us could also expect to experience good health and lead full, active lives for decades after we stop working. This means we could enjoy a retirement that is nearly as long, if not longer than our working lives.

Which raises one very important question: are we really planning sufficiently for the prospect of funding a retirement that could span up to 30 years or more?

Longevity - the financial challenge , more

*Office of National Statistics