Brits ‘not healthy enough’ to work past 60

With the government announcing that the state pension age will rise by 2020, experts are saying the average British employee is not healthy enough to work into their late 60s.

The state pension age will gradually rise to 66 for men and women by October of 2020, then to 67 by 2028 and 68 by the mid-2030s. But Mark Pearson, a senior analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, (OECD) says the move may not be viable unless public health is improved.

Speaking about a recently published pensions report, Pearson says: “Frankly our population is not healthy enough to work that long. When you actually look at the health status of people between 60 and 70, you see a very rapid decline in the UK.”

Pearson told the Daily Mail he believes the UK needs to do more to tackle obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking.

The OECD’s Pensions at a Glance report shows that the average Brit retires before the current pension ages of 65 for men and 62-and-a-half for women and the average retirement age is lower than that of other developed nations.

While a study by Newcastle University found that men and women have a longer life expectancy, they are living longer with poor physical health owing to unhealthy lifestyles and rising obesity levels.

Read the original article by Health Insurance Daily at bit.ly/1leuiOH