Iintend to live to be 100. I am now a mere 76. I need the time to read the unread books, view the unseen videotapes and sort out my accumulated clutter. My life expectancy was 81 when I reached 65, and if I was 65 today it would be 86. As mortality rates fall, and health improves, people live longer than they once expected.

Life expectancy has been rising faster in the UK since 1980. If the trend seen over the past 25 years continues, it will reach 93 for men of 65 by 2050, and 96 for women. The actuaries have underestimated the trend. Pension liabilities have risen faster than assets. Defined benefit schemes have struggled to reduce their deficits. The revolution of rising expectations is giving way to a revolution of rising expectancy.