Faced with increasing longevity and the prospect of tens of billions of extra welfare spending in the years ahead, the British government has brought forward the date at which the state pension can be claimed. The pension age will rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039 affecting in particular people currently aged 39-47 years.

This blog article from Second Reading (House of Commons) looks at how the state pension is funded.

Robert Peston questions the decision given news this week that average gains in longevity have been weakening since 2010.

Stan Collymore is not impressed!

The Department for Work and Pensions has a graphic showing changing life expectancy

Health economist Dan Howdon reminds us of the significant regional variations in life expectancy in modern Britain. Poorer communities already suffer from much lower years of healthy life expectancy.