One in ten will be over 85 within 20 years

NEARLY one in ten Scots will be aged 85 or older in some of parts of the country within just two decades’ time.

The baby boomers are set to make up a generation described as ‘ the oldest old’ – people approaching their 90s or even close to their 100th birthday.

New population projections show almost 8 per cent of people in picturesque retirement hotspot Argyll and Bute will be 85 or older by 2037.

There are fears the country will struggle to cope with a demographic t i me bomb which will mean almost 40 per cent of residents in the Western Isles are pensioners in the same year.

An increasing burden will fall on the young to pay for health and everyday care and for pensions and benefits.

The ONS projections, based on population estimates drawn up in 2012, say that by 2037 one in 20 people across the UK will be aged over 85 – more than double the proportion now.

By then the average person will be aged almost 43, compared to 40 now. In parts of Scotland, the average age of a local resident will rise to almost 50.

In Dumfries and Galloway the average age will be 48, compared to just 36 in the cities which attract young people to work and live, including Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Janet Morrison, from the charity Independent Age, said: ‘These latest projections show that by 2037 nearly one in four people in the UK will be over the age of 65, compared to just over one in six today.

‘The growth in the oldest old – those over 85 – will be even more dramatic. This surge in longevity should be celebrated and is testament to the huge strides we have made, particularly in medical care.

‘But to prepare for it, as a society we need to continue to improve our health and social care systems, helping older people stay in the workplace longer and tackling the risks of loneliness and isolation in older age. Otherwise we run the risk of squandering the rich potential of our ageing society.’

Over-65s will make up more than a third of people in the local authority areas of Inverclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire and the Western Isles.

Unprecedented numbers will live to reach 100. ONS projections published in 2013 said by 2037 there are likely to be 111,000 centenarians in the UK – a nearly tenfold increase from the 13,780 in that year.

Before the First World War there are thought to have been only 100 centenarians in the country, and even by 1980 the numbers had reached only 2,000.

This year in the UK there are 3.2 people of working age able to support every i ndividual who has reached pension age. However, the ratio will have halved to 1.6 by 2037.

The Scottish Government has proposed opening hospital operating theatres, X-ray units and outpatient clinics seven days a week to cope with the extra demand.

A r eport last year from the Registrar General revealed Scotland’s elderly now outnumber its children, with 17 per cent of the population aged under 16, while 18 per cent are over 65.

The number of children has fallen by 4 per cent in a decade, while those over 75 leapt by 17 per cent.

The report said: ‘ Composition by age and sex is one of the most important aspects of the population.. increases in the elderly population are likely to place a greater demand on health and social services.’

‘Risk squandering rich potential’