A shrinking working population could soon make the state pension unaffordable as birth rates have hit record lows, an expert has warned.
There were 605,479 live births in England and Wales in 2022, new census figures show, which was the lowest number since 2022.
This means the total fertility rate has fallen to 1.49 children per woman, down from 1.55 in 2021, with the rate falling consistently since 2010, and well below the replacement level of 2.08 children.
Experts at Hargreaves Lansdown warned the shrinking population can cause “major issues” for the state pension, with fewer working Britons to foot the bill through their National Insurance contributions.
Helen Morrissey, head of Personal Finance, said: “We’ve reached a real tipping point and if we want to keep the state pension on a long-term sustainable footing, we need to see whoever wins the election implement an overarching review of the state pension and the triple lock’s role within it.
“This will give people the certainty they need in terms of knowing what they will receive from the state and when so they can plan their futures with confidence.”
A recent report from the International Longevity Centre found the state pension age could soon have to rise to 71 as the policy becomes ever more difficult to afford.
Payments are increasing 8.5 percent in April, with the full new state pension going up from the current £203.85 a week to £221.20 a week, an increase of around £900 a year. This follows a previous large increase of 10.1 percent last year, thanks to the triple lock policy.
Ms Morrissey said: “The state pension is the very foundation of people’s retirement planning, and it is vital it remains sustainable.
“As a General Election looms, all eyes are on what state pension pledges will be in the key manifestos, with pressure piling on the parties to pledge whether they will keep the triple lock.
“It’s become a hugely important, though expensive policy, and it would take a brave politician to say they would step away from it.”
One expert recently told Express.co.uk the Government could be forced to hike the state pension age to as high as 90.
Sam Roberts, director of Investment Consulting at Cartwright, said: “The state pension promises made by the UK Government are mathematically unsustainable without explicitly reducing the benefits (such as increasing the state pension age sooner and faster) or implicitly reducing the benefits by creating inflation higher than the annual pension increases.
“The state pension age could in theory rise to maybe age 80 or 90. When it was first introduced, most people were not expected to live long enough to claim the state pension.
“However, the state pension age is a political decision and therefore a large rise seems highly unlikely
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