You might live till you’re 103
Half of Today’s children will live until the age of 103, meaning people will have to work longer to support themselves and the rapidly-rising older population will have to learn to get by without relying on the help of young taxpayers.
A House of Lords study – Ready for Ageing? – revealed the number of people over 85 will more than double between 2010 and 2030. One expert told the inquiry that any baby born after 2007 has a one in two chance of living past 100. This increase in the number of older people will have a profound impact on a wide range of public services
The report from the House of Lords Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change warns that the Government and our society are “woefully under prepared for ageing. The Committee says that longer lives can be a great benefit, but there has been a collective failure to address the implications and without urgent action this great boon could turn into a series of miserable crises.”
“To make a success of these demographic shifts, major changes are needed in our attitudes to ageing. Many people will want or need to work for longer, and employers should facilitate this. Many people are not saving enough to provide the income they will expect in later life, and the Government must work to improve defined contribution pensions, which are seriously inadequate for many. People need help to make better use of the wealth tied up in their own property to support their longer lives.”
“The National Health Service will have to transform to deal with very large increases in demand for and costs of health and social care. Overall, the quality of healthcare for older people is not good enough now, and older people should be concerned about the quality of care that they may receive in the near future.”
