Young people will suffer most from UK's ageing population, Lords say

"Lord Wood of Anfield, the committee's chair, said, unlike the unpredictable challenges of climate change, defence and AI, ageing was a knowable, long-term challenge and one that will touch every area of society and the economy. But it is difficult to locate a part of government that is focused on this challenge, he said. One of the things we want to point out in this report is that the biggest impact will fall on the young and on people who are yet to be born."

"The report poured cold water on several policy levers often cited by governments as solutions: raising the state pension age, increasing immigration or attempting to boost fertility rates would not, on their own, offset the combined impact of falling birthrates and rising life expectancy, it said. Instead, it concluded that the single biggest improvement to the UK's fiscal outlook would come from encouraging and incentivising people in their mid-50s to mid-60s to remain in work or return after leaving the labour market."

An ageing population is creating unsustainable pressure on public finances and living standards, with the greatest burden falling on young people and future generations. Growing life expectancy and falling birthrates will extend lives into the 90s while social and economic structures still assume school, work, and retirement in the 60s. Adult social care remains chronically neglected and constitutes a major policy scandal. Age discrimination in the workplace is often overstated; the most damaging form can be self-directed when older workers limit choices based on mistaken impressions. Raising pension ages, increasing immigration, or boosting fertility alone will not offset demographic pressures, while keeping people in their mid-50s to mid-60s in or returning to work offers the largest fiscal benefit.

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