New data released by the ONS shows that healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth in the UK, for both men and women, decreased to its lowest level since the ONS began tracking this in 2011.
Men in the UK can expect to spend 60.7 years (77% of life) in "good" general health, compared with 60.9 years (73%) for women; these were decreases of 1.8 and 2.5 years, respectively, compared with the last non-overlapping reporting period (2019 to 2021).
In England, there continues to be a clear geographical divide. HLE 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 HLE, whereas the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West had the lowest.
The gap in HLE at birth across local areas of the UK, measured as the difference between the 97.5th and 2.5th percentiles, was 14.7 years for men (the largest gap observed yet) and 15.8 years for women (the joint largest gap observed yet) continuing a trend of increasing inequality since the onset of the pandemic.
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. Further increases are expected to be recommended as part of the current independent review of state pension age being conducted on behalf of the government.
David Cooper, director at retirement specialist Just Group, commented: “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. 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 and make them stretch further than planned.
“The decrease in healthy life expectancy also poses a question for everyone approaching, or in, retirement – how should they plan for later life care? Care represents a huge, and difficult to manage, financial risk for people. 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. Financial advisers, especially those who have an accreditation from the Society of Later Life Advisers, are placed to help with these issues.
“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.”
Stuart McDonald, head of longevity at LCP, said: “Today’s figures confirm that the nation’s health has not yet recovered from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Healthy Life Expectancy has fallen sharply in recent years and is now at the lowest levels recorded since the data series began in 2011-13. 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."
LCP partner Steve Webb added: “Fiscal pressures are leading governments around the world to hike state pension ages, but this risks creating a growing chasm of years in poor health before state pension kicks in. Benefit support for people under pension age is very meagre, and substantially below the rates available to pensioners. The government needs to tread very carefully in making further changes to state pension ages, to avoid the risk of condemning growing numbers of people to living on the breadline for years in the run-up to drawing a state pension."
