More people set to reach 100

4th August 2011

Twenty year olds are three times as likely to reach 100 as people of their grandparentss' age and roughly twice more likely to reach 100 than their parents, figures show.

The Department for Work and Pensions study, based on predictions by the Office for National Statistics, said the change reflected how much life expectancy is changing across generations.

The figures revealed a baby girl born in 2011 is eight times more likely to live to 100 years than they would have been in 1931.

Baby girls born this year have a one in three chance of reaching the milestone birthday, while boys have a one in four chance, according to the study.

And the report predicted there will be around 500,000 people aged over 100 by 2066 as diets, living standards and health care continue to improve.

Pensions minister Steve Webb said the study highlighted the need for Britons to save more, with an increased pressure on the country’s finances.

"These figures show just how great the differences in life expectancy between generations really are," he said.

"The dramatic speed at which life expectancy is changing means that we need to radically rethink our perceptions about our later lives.

"We simply can’t look to our grandparents’ experience of retirement as a model for our own. We will live longer and we will have to save more."

Former Treasury select committee chair Lord McFall published a report earlier this week that said up to 14 million people retiring after 2020 will end up with pensions far smaller than their parents.

It warned that the current UK pensions system is in "urgent need" of improvement if millions of workers in private firms are to save enough for retirement.



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