In response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement given today, David Sinclair, Chief Executive of the ILC, the UK’s leading authority on the impact of longevity on society, argues:

“While I welcome the Chancellor’s stated commitment to the long-term, there is no long-term saving for the Government in ignoring the fact that our demography is changing and our society is ageing. By 2040 there will be more than 17 million people aged 65+, four million more than today.

“We know that future generations are likely to be poorer. Today people aged under 40 hold under 4% of UK wealth. Today’s proposals increasing the national living wage, housing allowances, the ISA changes and a one-pot pension could help people save more. But we need more affordable and energy-efficient housing plus pensions, tax and benefit systems that better distribute wealth across all ages.

“The elephant in the room is that tax cuts alongside maintaining effective public services don’t usually add up. Our ageing population is going to need more spending on health, pensions, and care. Yet for decades Ministers have avoided tackling the difficult policy decisions like raising the state pension age that could make a real difference to people’s future.

“Creating the right incentives to work will need some carrot and stick but this is true for employers as much as employees. There are a million older people aged between 50 and state pension age who want to work but can’t through no fault of their own: often due to poor health, care responsibilities, and ageist attitudes.

“Longer lives are huge assets, but we don’t benefit enough from them. Keeping people in work requires addressing the barriers to good health in the first place. The Chancellor has made some positive proposals today, but these fall far short of what’s needed for longer lives. Investing more in preventing ill-health, incentivising age-inclusive employment practices and providing support for unpaid care will unlock many more opportunities for economic growth.”

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