We're Basically Going To Have To Work 'Til We Fall Down Dead

By Holly Brockwell on at

The state pension age is rising faster than planned, with the latest round of changes strongly suggesting that people currently young and sprightly won't start receiving theirs til they're into their seventies.

This is coming from two separate sources: an independent report saying the planned rise to 68 should happen seven years earlier (in 2039), and a government report saying anyone the pension age for anyone currently under 30 will likely be 70.

The state pension age (SPA) is the earliest age anyone's allowed to receive a state pension. Interestingly, the most recent announcements are in line with where it started out: back in 1908 when the Old Age Pension (as it was called then) began, it was paid to men over 70 who earned £31 a year or less. That's just over £3,000 in today's money, but salaries were pretty different back then. So was society: married men got more money than single ones, and the average life expectancy was 47. Now, it's 79 for men and 83 for women, and that trend is continuing:

Percentage distribution of all deaths by age-group for selected years, UK

Source: ONS

In short, then, there are going to be loads of us who are ancient, but none of us will have any money. Good thing we'll all live in VR. [The Guardian]

Main image: Librestock