Soon we will all be living into our 90s

...but don’t get too excited, few of us will hit 100

EVERYONE can expect to live to 90 in the future, a study of ageing predicted yesterday.

Both men and women will be likely to reach their nineties and women will no longer live much longer than men, it said.

But the age of centenarians that some believe is near will never happen, the study concluded – most people will last until their nineties, but few will go on to hit their 100th birthday.

The report, by the Cass Business School and the International Longevity Centre, is based on a new system for forecasting how long people will live, and the results will help people plan their lives and help give a clearer insight to Government, as well as the pension and finance industry.

The news comes at a time when ever- lengthening life expectancy has led to widespread predictions that people will commonly live to more than 100, and when the gap between the lifespans of men and women is already narrowing.

According to the most recent official figures, the life expectancy for a baby born between 2011 and 2013 is 78.9 for a boy and 82.7 for a girl, leaving a gap between the sexes of 3.8 years. In the early 1980s life expectancy was 70.8 for a boy and 76.8 for a girl – a six-year gap.

As well as i ncreasing l i fe expectancy, the number of centenarians has multiplied fivefold over the past 30 years and there are now more than 13,000 people over 100 in Britain.

But report author Professor Les Mayhew said: ‘ We expect that most future growth in life expectancy will come between the ages 70 and 90. Life expectancy beyond 100 years of age is increasing very slowly and so will not contribute as much as was previously thought.

‘As a result, the age at death will tend to increasingly cluster in the 90s and the age of death of men and women will converge.’

Men’s lifespans have been increasing thanks to healthier lifestyles, better medicine, the decline of smoking, and the economic revolution that has meant most work in offices rather than physical and dangerous manual jobs.

At the same time, the advantage of women over men in terms of longevity has been eroded by the increased stress and level of smoking and drink- ing which has gone with the advance of millions of women into the labour force.

The report said this narrowing gap was one of Britain’s success stories, adding: ‘ It presents the country with a huge economic opportunity if these extra years are spent in prosperity and good health, but significant economic danger if they are not.’

It also warned of potential high costs for pensions in the future, as well as for health and social care.

Professor Mayhew said: ‘The increases in life expectancy raise important questions, as later retirement requires a capacity to work for longer and it may also mean downsizing one’s home at an earlier stage.

‘As a result, we need better information about life expectancy at both the population and individual level to enable better decision making.’

‘Important questions’