The five UK councils where people are expected to live longest have average property prices up to six times higher than in the five local authorities where life expectancy is lowest.
That is according to new analysis by Just Group, which reveals that people living in the five local authorities with the highest average life expectancy can expect to live 83.6 years, which is nearly 10 years longer than the 73.9 average in the five councils with lowest life expectancy at birth.
Mapping property prices onto these regions gives a stark picture, with an average house price of £791,252 in the five top local authorities for longevity, more than five times higher than the average of £142,321 for the bottom five councils.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “Our comparison of house prices and life expectancy across the UK shines a light on the strong link between health and wealth.
“Average life expectancy is a rough guide that can mask the great disparity in life expectancy across the UK and it’s clear when thinking about finances in retirement and later life, people and financial advisers should treat averages with a pinch of salt.”
Westminster and Inverclyde top and tail male longevity, with average life expectancies at birth in these councils standing at 84.7 and 74.3 years, respectively – a gap of more than 10 years.
London boroughs dominate the chart of female life expectancy by council, with four of the top five authorities being Kensington & Chelsea, Camden, Westminster and Richmond upon Thames. The fifth local authority is Hart in Hampshire.
The average female life expectancy at birth in these councils is 87 years – more than eight years higher than the bottom five local authorities for female life expectancy at birth, where the average woman is expected to live to 78.8.
Again, the correlation between health and property wealth is evident – on average, properties in the five longest-living local authorities are worth £878,804, more than six times higher than the five councils with the shortest female life expectancy, where properties are worth just £138,998.
Lowe said that the “known unknown” of how long people will live is one of the things that makes retirement planning so complex.
He continued: “People may not like to think about how long they are likely to live and, when they do, they tend to underestimate the age they are likely to attain. But for an individual planning their retirement finances, average figures are a poor guide – nobody is 'average'.
“At age 65, median life expectancy is about 86 for a man and 89 for a woman which means half will survive longer. As these latest figures show, if you are in good health and have reasonable wealth, that tips the odds of living longer even more in your favour.
“People with a financial adviser should expect their adviser to ask some fairly searching questions about their health and lifestyle when planning their retirement finances.
“And those advisers should be factoring in that if their client is wealthy, then they may be more likely to live beyond the average lifespan, in many cases by some margin.”
Image credit: iStock
Author: Chris Seekings