There has been a sharp drop in the self-reported ‘healthy life expectancy’ of the population, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics.
For the period 2022 to 2024, males in the UK could expect to spend 60.7 years (77 per cent of life) in “good” general health, compared with 60.9 years (73 per cent) for females.
This was a decrease of 1.8 and 2.5 years, respectively, compared with the last non-overlapping period (2019 to 2021).
Despite modest increases in life expectancy from 2019 to 2021, healthy life expectancy at birth in the UK, for both males and females, decreased to its lowest level since time series began in 2011 to 2013.
At the same time, state pension ages have been increasing, rising from 65 in 2018 to 66 in 2020 and set to rise again to 67 in 2028.
Stuart McDonald, head of longevity at LCP, said: “These numbers should be a wake-up call. The cost of ill health is rising. Increased investment in keeping people well for longer would be to the benefit of individuals, the NHS, the taxpayer and the economy.”
The ONS revealed that in England there continues to be a clear geographical divide.
Healthy life expectancy at birth was highest in southern regions and lowest in northern regions, with a similar pattern for both sexes.
The South East, London, and the South West had the highest healthy life expectancy, whereas the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West had the lowest.
David Cooper, director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “The regional disparities are particularly alarming with persistent health inequalities between the North and south of England.
“These stark differences reflect not only economic disparities but also unequal access to healthcare, lifestyle factors, education, and housing, all of which influence health outcomes over the long-term.”
Just Group said this is a continuing trend of increasing inequality since the onset of the pandemic.
Cooper said: “Despite life expectancy seeing modest recent increases, the amount of time that the average UK adult can expect to spend in good health is reducing. It is a worrying trend that will have a significant impact on some people’s plans for retirement.
“For those with a shorter healthy life expectancy they may have to grapple with the challenge of being forced out of work by ill-health before they start to receive the state pension.”
Cooper explained this leaves them with an income gap between stopping work and receiving their state pension.
For these individuals, they may need to call on their retirement savings much earlier than expected.
The care question
While life expectancy has recovered since the pandemic, the share of life spent in good health is shrinking.
Maike Currie, VP personal finance at PensionBee, said: “We are not just living longer — we are living longer with illness, disability and care needs.
“This has far-reaching implications for policymakers, the NHS and our own personal finances. It’s important to distinguish between your “health span” — the active years — and your “care span”, when support may be needed and costs can escalate sharply.
“Retirement spending can often be higher in the early years when we’re healthy, active and spending on travel and experiences. It then dips as life and mobility slows.
“It can then rise again sharply as health needs increase and care costs bite. Plotted on a graph, it looks like a smile: up, down, then up again.”
Currie explained that later-life care can be “prolonged and eye-wateringly expensive”, yet the UK still lacks dedicated savings products to help households plan for this phase.
She said it is a gap that disproportionately affects women, who typically live longer but retire with significantly smaller pension pots.
“The result is a growing mismatch between longer lives, shrinking healthy years and a system still poorly designed for the true costs of ageing,” she added.
Meanwhile, Cooper said the decrease in healthy life expectancy also poses a question for everyone approaching, or in, retirement about how they should plan for later life care.
“Care represents a huge, and difficult to manage, financial risk for people,” he said. “Many find themselves with caring responsibilities for elderly parents or relatives with some ultimately needing to organise and pay for care for themselves or their partners.
“The earlier the care conversation happens, the better. It means people won’t face a sudden shock at the point-of-need and will have a plan in place to deal with the financial and logistical practicalities.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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