"New ONS statistics show that the number of centenarians living in England and Wales increased 127-fold over the past century, rising to 13,924 in 2021 – a 24.5% increase from 2011 and the highest number of centenarians ever recorded in an England and Wales census. There are many factors which have caused this considerable rise, including massive improvements in health care and spikes in the number of births after the end of World War One.
“In 2010, the government forecast the number of centenarians living in the UK would reach 21,900 by 2020, and 37,600 by 2025. While today’s figures do show a marked increase, the government’s predictions hugely overestimated average life expectancy, illustrating just how difficult it is to accurately predict how long you will live.
“Life expectancy can vary hugely based on events outside of our control. For example, it tends to increase in bursts corresponding to medical breakthroughs, but can be hindered by unpredictable events such as the Covid-19 pandemic. This means everyone should plan their retirement around the very realistic possibility of living to 100.
“Building a pension pot that can support you for that long is not easy, but it will be considerably more achievable the earlier you start. The government is currently looking to extend automatic enrolment to those aged 18 and over, and the increase in centenarians highlights just how beneficial this could be.
“An 18-year-old who lives for another 82 years would have roughly half of their life to build up enough pension savings to support themselves for the final third of their life. Auto-enrolment has resulted in many more young people contributing to a pension, however at the current default contribution levels some may still not be saving enough to fund an increasingly longer life. For those who are further on in their working lives, it is important to remember that it is never too late to start saving, as something is always better than nothing, and any pension contributions you make in later life can still have a big impact on your standard of living in retirement.
"Those looking to build an adequate retirement pot to see them through to 100 should seek professional financial advice where possible. A financial planner can help ensure you are making the best choices for your retirement based on your personal circumstances, which can make a considerable difference to your quality of life should you be fortunate enough to join the growing number of centenarians.”
|
