Death estimates for older population
Published on 17 April 2014 12:00 PM
Older people could be given an estimate of when they might die in an effort to help them manage their finances better.
MPs are currently considering the idea as part of Government guidance for the retired population on how much they should be spending and saving.
Pensions minister Steve Webb claims many people often underestimate how long they are likely to live for, meaning they could face financial hardship by not budgeting for the duration of their retirement.
'If you are thinking about this, what do you do?' he said. 'For best guidance you probably think about how long your grandparents lived. But that is two generations out of date.'
The member of Liberal Democrats believes experts could look at factors such as smoking, eating habits and hereditary conditions to help determine a more accurate life expectancy, as well as things like socio-economic background and postcodes.
Guidance on the subject could be rolled out as early as April 2015, along with other reforms in a major shake-up of the pensions system, which include allowing the withdrawal of money directly from a pension savings pot.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director of Age UK, said: 'The details of pension guidance are still to be worked out. But we agree that people will need some idea of life expectancy to plan ahead at retirement.'
Life expectancy rising steadily
Recently released figures show that life expectancy is rising steadily in the UK.
Females born now are projected to live until 82.7 years on average, while average male life expectancy is now 78.9 years.
People on the coast of Dorset fare best, with women born in the Purbeck area expected to live to 86.6 years and men in neighbouring east Dorset living to an average age of 82.9 years.
Glasgow, on the other hand, has the lowest figure for boys and girls at 72.6 years and 78.5 years respectively.
Mr Webb was criticised in March for being 'out of touch' after saying he was 'relaxed' about people wanting to use their money to buy a Lamborghini.
His latest proposals could be seen as a way of winning over the sceptics, although questions will undoubtedly be raised about how he intends to do this.
Copyright Press Association 2014