25 things you didn’t know about retirement

March 16th, 2009
  1. In 20 years’ time half the population in Europe will be 50 and over.
  2. The UK now has more pensioners than children under 16.
  3. Population forecasts suggest that Europe will hover just below the replacement level of 2.2 children for the next 50 years.
  4. In 1948 - when the UK State Pension was introduced, the average life expectancy for a male manual worker retiring at 65 was 69 - now it’s into their 80s.
  5. The over 50s hold 60% of the UK’s savings, represent about 80% of the UK’s disposable wealth and are responsible for 40% of the consumer demand in this country - spending some £200 billion a year.
  6. More over 50s shop online than under 30s do.
  7. About half of those over 50s regularly shop on e-Bay.
  8. Every hour we live adds 5 minutes to our life expectancy.
  9. Life expectancy has increased by 2 decades in one generation.
  10. 36% of the UK population over 55 have outstanding unsecured debts.
  11. 13.6m people have never reviewed their pension plans.
  12. Britain will need an extra 62,000 doctors and 108,000 more nurses by 2033 to cope with the ageing population.
  13. The cost of staying in a care home is set to double in the next 20 years.
  14. The future average cost of a four year stay in a care home will rise from £112,312 to £223,476 in the next 20 years.
  15. 17% of people aged 85 and over are in long term care.
  16. A male aged 60 today is expected to live for another 26 years and a female 29 years on average.
  17. A 65 year old’s life expectancy is 84.7 for a woman and 81.9 for a man.
  18. One is three of the UK population is over 50, and one in five is a pensioner.
  19. 2.1 million pensioners live in poverty.
  20. An estimated £4.6 billion in benefits go unclaimed by older people every year (DWP, income-related benefits estimates of take-up in 2005-6, 2007).
  21. Nearly 1 in 3 people are unable to cut their own toe nails (National Statistics, People aged 65 and over, results from 2001, General Household Survey 2003).
  22. Age discrimination is the most commonly reported form of prejudice: 23% of adults experience it each year (TNS Survey on behalf of Age Concern, England, July 2006).
  23. One in 10 people over 75 have been refused motor insurance (ACE/Help the Aged, insurance and age 2007).
  24. The government estimates that around 7 million people are not saving enough for their retirement (DWP, Personal Accounts: a new way to save 206).
  25. Around 600,000 people over 65 are in acute need of general financial advice (Thoresen Review of genetic financial advice October 2007).

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