A think tank has issued a major financial warning, recommending that the retirement age be raised to 75.
In a statement they said: “An aging population and a rising Old Age Dependency Ratio (OADR) raise serious concerns about long-term financial sustainability in the UK.
“If we wait [the state pension] the full functioning of public services and their continuation into the future… The financial balance of the United Kingdom needs to be restored.”
The Center for Social Justice (CSJ), founded by Sir Ian Duncan Smith, said its proposals come at a time of serious financial uncertainty in the UK.
The retirement age, currently 66, should rise to 70 in 2028 and 75 in 2035, CSJ said.
The CSJ said its recommendations were justified on the basis that, on average, people were living longer.
They explained that when it was implemented, the average life expectancy was 50, but this quickly increased to 81, changing the economic situation.
In response, the government said: “We increased the future retirement age to 68 in 2017 to ensure it is sustainable now and for future generations.”
The CSJ’s recommendations were met with some opposition. Conservative peer and former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann said they were “chilling and immoral”.
He added that this would force the public to work into old age, force more people to claim benefits and shorten their life expectancy.
Additionally, although the CSJ cites increased life expectancy as one of the reasons for its proposals, some research suggests this may change in the future.
According to research published earlier this year, the UK is the country where life expectancy is growing the slowest among the G7.
Experts said one reason for this was the impact on “poorer groups”.
Professor Martin McKee told guard: “This increase also showed that differences in life expectancy between different social groups were increasing. One reason why the overall increase in life expectancy in the UK has been so slow is that in recent years it has fallen to poorer groups.
“Although politicians refer to global factors, especially the effects of the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, the truth is that the country suffers from major structural and institutional weaknesses, as in the 1950s.”
Dr Lucinda Hiam added: “The relative deterioration of population health is evidence that all is not well. This has historically been an early sign of serious political and economic problems. This new analysis suggests that the problems facing the UK are deep-rooted and “It raises serious questions about the path this country is taking.”
