“Much of what this data reveals should come as no surprise to those of us in the pensions industry.
“People in England and Wales were living longer in 2011 than they did 100 years ago. There is a decreasing proportion of the population that is aged under 15 and an increasing proportion that is aged 65 and over. The percentage of residents aged 65 and over was the highest seen in any census at 16.4 per cent, which means that one in six people in the population was 65 and over in 2011. In 1911, one in twenty usual residents were aged 65 and over.
“There were 430,000 residents aged 90 and over in 2011 compared with 340,000 in 2001 and 13,000 in 1911. This was the highest number in any census of people aged 90 and over.
“Very worryingly the number of active members of occupational pension schemes is at the lowest level since the 1950s. Employee membership of employer-sponsored pensions in the private sector fell from 46% in 1997 to 32% in 2011. In 2010 the average worker in a private sector defined benefit pension scheme contributed 5.1% of salary to their pension, compared with 2.7% for employees in defined contribution occupational pension arrangements.
“Great news we are all living longer, as no doubt we all wished for. However, this has now come to the attention of those in authority and, with an ever increasing percentage of the population relying on pension income (and defined contribution arrangements struggling to provide a decent income in retirement as annuity rates are at an all-time low), we are awaiting with interest the Government’s proposals on defined ambition pensions which are expected later this year. Radical reform of pensions arrangements are needed to meet the needs of a growing population of pensioners in the wake of the disappearance of final salary pension schemes. I would love final salary schemes to make a comeback but the reality is that most are in their endgame paying out benefits rather than accruing new liabilities. Will the Government be brave enough to remove the shackles which led to a large extent to the disappearance of final salary schemes? We will have to wait and see..”
Fraser concludes: “The figures also show how important automatic enrolment is, and the need for the Government to make a success of it. They also show the importance of pensions and the need for us all to reassess the adequacy of our current pension arrangements. Rather than perhaps starting at what we can afford to put in now, perhaps we should be asking what figure we hope to retire on and working out how we get to that figure before we reach 90.
“Another option for those who cannot afford to retire at 65 is don’t. We are going to see an ever increasing aged workforce with all the problems for employers that this will bring. Healthcare and managing out employees who cannot afford to retire but have ceased to perform at a required standard are two of the most obvious issues, but there are many more.”
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