Your pension benefits are literally vital

From Mnd

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.
• Go back a stage, and you get the relationship that higher salaries translate 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.