A think tank has proposed that the state pension age should rise to 75 as they issue a huge financial warning.
In a statement, they said: “The ageing population and the increasing Old Age Dependency Ratio (OADR) is raising serious concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability in the UK.
“If we expect [the state pension] to continue in the future along with the full functioning of public services … the UK’s fiscal balance must be corrected.”
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), founded by Sir Ian Duncan Smith, said that their proposal comes at a time of serious financial uncertainty in the UK.
The CSJ has said the pension age should rise to 70 by 2028 and 75 by 2035, up from the 66 it is now.
The CSJ said that its proposals are justified on the basis that on average people are living longer.
They explained that the average life expectancy was 50 when it was introduced, but that this has risen sharply to 81, changing the economic landscape.
In response, the government said: “In 2017 we raised the future retirement age to 68 so that it is sustainable now and for future generations.”
The CSJ’s proposals have been met with some opposition. Conservative peer and former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann said they were “chilling and immoral”.
She added that it would force the public to work into old age, force more people to claim benefits and shorten life expectancies.
Furthermore, while the CSJ has cited an increase in life expectancy as one of the justifications for its proposals, some research has suggested this might change in the future.
According to research published earlier this year, the UK has the slowest-growing life expectancy in the G7.
One of the reasons for this, said experts, was because of the impact on “poorer groups”.
Professor Martin McKee told the Guardian: “That rise also saw an increase in the variation in life expectancy between different social groups. One reason why the overall increase in life expectancy has been so sluggish in the UK is that in recent years it has fallen for poorer groups.
“While politicians invoke global factors, especially the effects of the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, the reality is that, as in the 1950s, the country suffers from major structural and institutional weaknesses.”
Dr Lucinda Hiam added: “A relative worsening of population health is evidence that all is not well. It has historically been an early sign of severe political and economic problems. This new analysis suggests that the problems the UK faces are deep-seated and raises serious questions about the path that this country is following.”
