SHOULD THE STATE PENSION AGE RISE?

A STEADY increase in the state pension age over time is something most of us have come to accept as a certainty. It's understandable when you consider how ministers of all political per- suasions have been drumming home this mes- sage, based on the fact we're all living longer.

- By Harvey Jones Personal Finance Editor

But there's a serious problem - we're not living longer.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed that between 2021 and 2023, life expectancy at birth for men in England actually fell by 26 weeks, from 79.5 years to 79 years. For women, it dropped by 13 weeks, from 83.2 years to 83 years.

And, as Pensions Minister Torsten Bell revealed to the Express last week, the state pension age may now have to be reviewed in light of life expectancy stalling.

So what could this mean?