Your pension benefits are literally vital

From Mnd

Revision as of 14:30, 16 February 2008

Be in no doubt: how long you live is determined in part by how much money you have. Each point on this graph represents a different country, and the trend is clear: the wealthier the nation, in terms of output per head, the longer its citizens live. Although this graph doesn’t directly lead to the conclusion that within a single country, wealth correlates with life expectancy, any actuary will tell you that the finding is, in fact, true.

So, all other things being equal, the retiree with the higher pension can be expected to live longer. Work this back a stage, and you get the relationship that higher salaries translates into higher pensions, which can be expected to translate into longer lives to enjoy those pensions. And to cap it all, if you’re an executive, you get a free health check, to intercept those life-threatening diseases early. Your pension is really important.

If you approve of the incentive of giving disproportionate returns to top performers, you need to recognise the life-and-death consequences this policy means for everyone else.

Of course, this relationship between wealth and mortality is not inevitable, but there is a general correlation.