Young people 'more likely to reach 100 years old'
- Published
By 2066 it is estimated there will be at least half-a-million people aged over 100
Today's 20-year-olds are three times more likely to live to 100 than their grandparents and twice as likely as their parents, official figures show.
And a baby born in 2011 is almost eight times more likely to reach their 100th birthday than one born 80 years ago.
A girl born this year has a one-in-three chance of reaching 100 years old and boys have a one-in-four chance.
The Department for Work and Pensions has issued the figures based on Office for National Statistics predictions.
By 2066 it is estimated there will be at least half-a-million people aged over 100.
'Dramatic speed'
Pensions minister Steve Webb said the data highlighted the differences in life expectancy between generations.
Mr Webb said: "The dramatic speed at which life expectancy is changing means that we need to radically rethink our perceptions about our later lives.
"We simply can't look to our grandparents' experience of retirement as a model for our own. We will live longer and we will have to save more."
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