Millions of Britons may have to work longer as the retirement age approaches 70, according to a top think group.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the state pension age could be raised by four years as the government struggles to control public finances.
In 2050, a state pension age as high as 70 would be required to keep the share of adults over the state pension age at its current rate of 24 percent.
Former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling, who consulted the IFS on the research, also stated that “too many people are saving too little for retirement.”
“Whilst today, many pensions are doing well on average and pensioner poverty has been cut drastically, we need a major review to avoid a future where too many won’t have enough to live on in their old age.”
Data from 2021 shows that there were approximately 15 million persons aged 30 to 49 in England alone.
By 2028, the state pension age will have risen from 66 to 67.
It is scheduled to rise to 68 in the mid-2040s.
However, authorities recently abandoned proposals to raise the state pension age due to concerns over declining life expectancy.
According to the IFS, just 24% of the adult population was 65 or older in 2020, but that proportion is expected to climb to 31% in 2050 and 34% in 2070.
Britain’s ageing population would almost certainly put significant strain on public resources, from covering pensions to providing care through the National Health Service.
Over the next 50 years, state pension and pensioner benefit spending is predicted to climb from 5.6 percent of national revenue to a whopping 9.6 percent.