Tuesday 4 January 2011

Nearly one in five 'to reach 100'

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Nearly one in five people currently in the UK will live to see their 100th birthday, according to the government.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said its figures suggested 10 million people - 17% of the population - would become centenarians.

These are based on Office for National Statistics population projections and life expectancy estimates.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said the "staggering" figures brought home the need for pension reforms.

"Many millions of us will be spending around a third of our lives or more in retirement in the future," he said, adding the government was determined to reform the pensions system to make it "sustainable for the long-term".

The DWP estimates there will be at least 507,000 people aged 100 or over by 2066, including 7,700 people aged 110 or over, so-called super centenarians.

Currently 11,800 people in the UK are aged 100 or over and fewer than 100 are over 110.

The government figures suggest that of the more than 10m who will go on to reach 100, 3m are currently aged under 16, 5.5m are aged between 16 and 50, and 1.3m are aged between 51 and 65.

About 875,000 are already aged over 65, it says.

The fear is that longer life spans will put an intolerable pressure on the pensions system and the NHS.

This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-12091758

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