Abstracts: October 27th, 2011
Twenty year olds are three times more likely to reach 100 than people of their grandparent’s age, and roughly twice as likely to reach 100 than people of their parent’s generation.
These predictions come from a new report by the Department for Work and Pensions. The figures also show that a baby born this year is almost eight times more likely to reach 100 than one born in 1931. A baby girl born this year has a one in three chance of living to 100 and a baby boy has a one in four chance.
In 2066 there will be at least half a million people aged 100 or over.
The message from the report is that it is no longer possible to look at our grandparents’ experience of retirement as a model for our own. Living longer means saving more.