Numbers living to 100 predicted to rise

Of those alive in 2011 over 11 million will live to see their 100th birthday, a new report by the Department for Work and pensions predicts. Of these, almost 1million are at or over the age 65. Furthermore, 1.4m are currently aged between 51-65.

While increased longevity in the UK is a huge success that should be celebrated, it calls into question ways in which society can readapt to provide for longer lives.

Professor Jane Falkingham provided comment on these new statistics in a report by The Guardian. She highlighted that living longer may mean we need to rethinking the life course, when we have children and when we work. this in turn will have implications for the design of the welfare state. Her comments build on ideas put forward in the recent Population Europe policy briefing which she co-authored.