Average age on the up

ALMOST everywhere in Britain will have an older population by 0 6, the ONS forecasts.

Only a handful of towns will have younger average ages by then. But 97 towns and cities, around a third of the country, will have a quarter of their population aged over the traditional retirement point of 65.

This compares with 36 towns in 016. The ONS says the number of over-65s in London will grow by nearly a quarter by 0 6.

The projections say there will be 30 people over the state pension age for every 1,000 working age people in 0 6, and 366 in 041. The figure is expected to hold steady between 016 and

0 6 because of rises in the state pension age.