Table 2: Age at which remaining life expectancy is 15 for men, and 17 for women, selected years, Great Britain The importance of health at older ages has been prioritised by the government in their Grand Challenge on Ageing. The key to shifting the balance from challenge towards opportunity, both at a societal level and at an individual level, is for older people to be able to live healthy lives for as long as possible. When considering the challenges, more older people means increased demand for health and adult social services, and increased public spending on State Pensions. For individuals it might mean the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends and to pursue personal interests with more time for leisure activities.
It brings challenges but also opportunities.įrom an economic and societal point of view, longer lives mean people can continue to contribute for longer – through longer working lives, volunteering, and possibly providing care for family members, for example, grandchildren. Measuring population ageing is important because it has multiple economic, public service and societal impacts. By the middle of this century it is projected that median age will reach 43 years. The balance of older and younger people in the population has also tipped more towards older people, reflected in a rising median age up from 34 years in 1950 to 40 years in 2018. The oldest old are the fastest-growing age group, with the numbers of those aged 85 years and over projected to double from 1.6 million in 2018 to 3.6 million by 2050 (5% of the population). Looking ahead to the middle of this century, there are projected to be 17.7 million people aged 65 years and over (24.8% of the population). This compares with the middle of the 20th century (1950) when there were 5.3 million people of this age, accounting for 10.8% of the population. In 2018, there were 11.9 million residents in Great Britain aged 65 years and over, representing 18% of the total population. On both of these measures, the population has aged and is projected to continue to age (Figure 1).
In a number of respects, it could be argued that the start of older age has shifted, but how might this be determined? Should we just move the threshold on a few years – is age 70 really the new age 65? Or, might there be a better way of determining the start of older age? Back to table of contentsĪt a population level, ageing is measured by an increase in the number and proportion of those aged 65 years and over, and an increase in median age (the age at which half the population is younger and half older). So, on average, at age 65 years, women still have a quarter of their lives left to live and men just over one fifth.Īn important further consideration is that age 65 years is not directly comparable over time someone aged 65 years today has different characteristics, particularly in terms of their health and life expectancy, than someone the same age a century ago. In 2018, a man aged 65 could expect to live for another 18.6 years, while a woman could expect to live for 21 more years. People are also living longer, healthier lives. There is no longer an official retirement age, State Pension age is rising, and increasing numbers of people work past the age of 65 years. In terms of working patterns, age 65 years as the start of older age is out of date. In the UK, 65 years of age has traditionally been taken as the marker for the start of older age, most likely because it was the official retirement age for men and the age at which they could draw their State Pension.
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