Pensioners living longer than ever

Friday February 12th, 2016

England's pensioners now have their highest life expectancy ever, according to a report published yesterday.

A man of 65 can expect to live to 84 - and if he is 85 he can expect to live to 91, according to Public Health England.

And a woman of 65 can expect to live to 86 - and if she is 85, she is likely to live until 92.

Last year analysts suggested that pensioner life expectancy might be levelling off.

But yesterday's report shows improvements in life expectancy between 2013 and 2014.

Professor John Newton, from Public Health England, said: "People in England are living longer than ever and that makes achieving a good quality of life in later years even more important. Our current evidence shows that people are living longer but many are doing so in poor health. This report is an opportunity to remind people that, even during mid-life, it is not too late to improve your health.

"Most of us could make changes today, like stopping smoking, being more active or eating better, that would allow us to look forward to healthier later years."

But Professor Danny Dorling, of Oxford University, said: "Although national average life expectancy continues to rise, in many parts of England improvements have stalled in recent years. There is an urgent need to determine why this is happening.

"Beneath the headline figures of this report there is evidence of worsening health for many older people in some parts of the country."

Councils warned of the impact on hard-stretched social services of growing numbers of elderly people.

Cllr Izzi Secombe, of the Local Government Association, said: "The significant pressures facing adult social care, which an ageing population will add to, combined with the recently announced reductions to the public health budget, make this aspiration all the more challenging."

Tags: Elderly Health | General Health | UK News

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