It’s been an accepted wisdom over the past few decades that we are all living longer, at least as a nation. That’s now being tested.
There are several factors causing a slowdown in the long term trend of longer lifespans and Coronavirus is just one of them.
Obesity, substance abuse, poorer lifestyles, long waits for medical treatment and so on are other factors but Covid has been a major recent factor.
The expectation that we will all live longer is no longer as assured as it was and that needs to reflected in pensions, particularly the State Pension.
The pandemic is far from over and it’s too early to predict its lasting effects but a large number of people have sadly lost their lives and this already appears to be reducing average life expectancy, particularly in some areas of the UK.
The British Medical Journal reported in September that: “The Covid-19 pandemic led to the biggest year-on-year drop in life expectancy in England since statistics were first collected in 1981, Public Health England has said. In 2020, the agency said that “the very high level” of excess deaths because of the pandemic caused life expectancy in England to fall 1.3 years for men to 78.7 and 0.9 years for women to 82.7. This was the lowest life expectancy in England for both sexes since 2011.”
At the same time, as Financial Planning Today reported this week, the government has been continuing to purse its policy of steadily raising the State Pension retirement age and is even considering bringing forward some of the age increases in State Pension Age, or to put it another way, pushing back further the age when many will get their State Pension.
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A rise in life expectancy leading to a steady rise in State Pension Age has some logic and common sense behind it, albeit it’s not something most people nearing retirement with modest provision would relish.
The State Pension is, of course, funded by taxpayers so there has to be some element of restricting its cost to ensure younger taxpayers are not over-burdened. That’s a difficult balancing act to get right.
However, continuing to push up the State Pension Age when people are actually dying younger smacks of an almost cruel policy, effectively moving the finishing line further and further away for pension savers.
To be fair, it’s early days for all this. The fall in average life expectancy may be a temporary blip, we just do not know. It does seem likely, however, that we are in for a bumpy few years on life expectancy and the government, certainly the Government Actuary’s Department, will have to take the changes into account.
To be trusted, respected and worthwhile the State Pension Age must be fair to all. For hundreds of thousands, or even millions, to face never receiving a State Pension they have paid into all their lives, while those in better health who live longer gain the most, makes no sense at all. Reform is needed.
Analysis of the latest ONS figures by pension consultancy LCP, for men and women currently at pension age, suggests their life expectancy is now two years shorter than previously thought.
While the State Pension age has increased rapidly in recent years, LCP partner and former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, says the latest data reinforces the case for a fundamental rethink of the timetable for increasing State Pension ages.
Many, including fellow former Pensions Minister and pensions campaigner Baroness Ros Altmann, have also called for a review. The calls for change are growing.
On current trends the State Pension system risks becoming increasingly unfair, particularly to some of the poorest in our society, those both poor in income and in health.
A system that may provide the option of a lower pension payment earlier for those most in need makes some kind of sense. A review of inexorable rises in the State Pension Age is also required.
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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days. Follow @FPT_Kevin
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