The Cost of the UK’s Aging Population


 
The working-age population of the UK has been falling since the start of this century. This is because the fertility rate has been below replacement levels for decades, like many countries in Europe (see Europe’s Population Predicament). The combination of retirees living increasingly longer, and a decreasing number of working-age taxpayers to support them, is creating an increasing generational tax burden.

Number of Workers to each Dependent (65+) in the United Kingdom
The working-age population represents those aged 15 to 64. Period: 1950-2050.
The Cost of the UK’s Aging Population




The 65+ age cohort cost Governments more in terms of pensions, and medical and care costs, than any other demographic group (see The Alarming Cost of Aging Demographics). Estimates by the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility suggest that 75-year-olds cost the Government three times that of 45-year-olds in terms of annual spending. This generational cost burden is therefore rising at an unsustainable rate.

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