Philosophy of the Day


ThinkExist Dynamic daily quotation

Sunday 18 November 2007

How to Live Longer

Always on the look out for new investment "themes" I read a very interesting article in the FT yesterday about longevity. It seems we are starting to live a lot longer and, more significantly, longevity is increasing at quite a rapid rate. Apparently in 1990 the life expectancy of a then 65 year old male was 17 years (i.e. 82 years in total). It is now 24 years (i.e. 89). The ONS has published statistics showing a 90 fold increase in the number of people making it to 100. Quite a big jump and good news which means my life expectancy is a few years more than I thought it was yesterday. But I wonder if all this is factored into actuarial mortality tables with allowance for probable further increases in life expectancy.
Update 26th November 2007: Further small FT article refers to study by David Blake of Pensions Institute at Cass Business School. He uses the same data as ONS but comes up with a range of outcomes. Believes a man who reaches 65 in 2050 (22 now) would live to 91. Government forecasts for longevity are underestimated by up to 12 years.

No comments: