aThe one thing you need to know about Liz Truss teaching lessons on how to be popular is that one of her signature policies is to State pension age to 68 years. The potential to win votes is so great that the plan was discarded by Rishi Sunak’s government as soon as the electoral consequences became clear. The problem is not that people live longer, but that they live longer with poor health. As it currently stands, the retirement age will rise to 67 in April 2026. At the same time, there is a continued increase in the number of people unemployed due to illness.
In Greek mythology, Cassandra had the gift of prophecy, but was cursed so that no one listened to her. Those who argue that people should wait until they are 71 before retiring may feel offended at being similarly dismissed while telling the truth. But that does not do justice to the hardship, alienation and fear that the working-age population is currently experiencing.
The Institute for Public Policy Research astonishingly discovered that only 9% of men and 16% of women born today can expect to reach state pension age in good health. The poor not only die earlier, they also spend a greater part of their lives with a long-term condition or disability. This is an avoidable, unfair difference with the rich that should be morally unacceptable.
Raising the age limits means another year of working age benefits instead of the relatively more generous state pension. Analysis from the Health Foundation suggests that people living in some of the most deprived areas of Scotland, the North East, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, would be most disadvantaged by the upward trend in the retirement age.
If the argument is that more and more people will live longer but not save enough to consume in retirement, then the answer is to let more people put the money aside. Revitalizing the NHS is key to strengthening the UK economy. But there needs to be a broader system rethink about working conditions, pay and the dignity of work – not just blindly raising age limits without concern for inequality.
This week, the Office for National Statistics found that there are now 2.8 million people classified as not looking for work due to health problems – an increase of a third from 2.1 million before the pandemic. It should be a national mission to prevent loss of life on such a scale. Returning these funds to the workforce would also potentially allow for greater savings and reduce the need to quickly increase pension limits. So does a looser fiscal policy – one that puts humanity ahead of arbitrary spending rules.
Voters become outraged when they feel an ethical standard is being violated. Governance must be an ethical issue. Voters are not happy when they are told that they have to go along with the policy, no matter how indefensible it is. No doubt many think that the next government will have to raise the retirement age once it is freed from the election cycle. Labor should have a plan to ensure this is not inevitable, starting with targets to reduce poverty, obesity and anxiety – and increase healthy life expectancy. The proof was that such policies produced a fairer and healthier society under the last Labor government. There is no reason to believe that they would no longer be able to work.