To preserve their pensions, British workers would have to work much longer.
The retirement age will need to be raised to 71 in the United Kingdom by 2050 to keep the state pension system balanced, a study by the International Longevity Center in the United Kingdom (ILCUK) estimated on Monday. .
“Most countries that rank high” on the research center's Healthy Aging Index, such as the United Kingdom, “have a rapidly aging population,” meaning that the share of people working age (15 to 64 years) is decreasing.
In the United Kingdom, “the retirement age should be set at 70 or 71 years, compared to 66 years currently, to maintain the status quo of the number of workers per retiree” receiving a state pension, according to this study.
Across the Channel, the State pays for a public pension (which currently amounts to 203.85 pounds, or 238 euros, maximum per week) and a majority of British retirees also receive a private pension.
Only 50% of septuagenarians able to continue working
The public retirement age is currently set at 66 in the country, and is due to increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028. It is expected to increase to 68 from 2044. For comparison, in France, the age The legal retirement age was increased last year from 62 to 64 years.
Yet if allowing people to work longer is a solution, “research shows that by age 70, only 50% of adults” are able to do so, according to the report released Monday.
ILCUK researchers call on the government to focus more on preventing ill health, not only among older people but also those of working age, as the UK has seen soar since the pandemic the number of inactive people due to chronic illnesses.
And if Britons are “facing health problems earlier” in life, “the problem becomes even more pressing” because it further reduces the number of workers funding the system, the study warns.
A reduced labor force further creates "enormous labor shortages that must be filled by migrant labor," according to the authors, who add that this "is not a sustainable solution and done to the economic and social detriment of the countries of origin as well as destination.”
The entry into force of Brexit at the start of 2021 made it particularly difficult for hundreds of thousands of workers from the European Union to come to the United Kingdom.
The study also notes that “the recent slowdown in life expectancy” across the Channel linked to the austerity policies of the 2010s and Covid-19 “has temporarily eased the pressure”, but that it is still present longer term.