Where someone lives could mean a difference of hundreds of thousands of pounds in state pension payouts, a new analysis has revealed.
Pensioners in well-off areas receive around £210,000 more in state pension payments in comparison to those in the most deprived areas.
The divide is driven by differences in life expectancy between the poorest and richest parts of the country, the analysis by The Telegraph found.
Rich people live longer and therefore receive more pension payments over their lifetime.
Hart in Hampshire has the highest life expectancy at 85, with the average retiree drawing a state pension at the age of 66 and receiving total payments of £375,610.
Other areas with high life expectancy include Kensington and Chelsea, Horsham, South Cambridgeshire, Uttlesford and South Oxfordshire.
These residents live long enough to accumulate £347,978 in state pension payments over their lifetimes.
Those in well-off areas benefit from the triple lock system, which means annual payment increases by the highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5%.
On the other end of the spectrum, Blackpool has the lowest life expectancy at 76.
Pensioners here are short-changed with a state pension at the age of 66 for 10 years, totalling £165,720 over their lifetime.
Other areas with low life expectancy at the age of 77 include Middlesbrough, Hull, Manchester, Liverpool and Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, resulting in life payments of £185,151.
This means between Hart and Blackpool, there is a £209,890 gap between the two areas.
Steve Webb, former pensions minister and now partner at consultancy LCP, suggested the problem is not to do with the pension system.
He told Metro: ‘The pension system is a mirror to the inequality we face in the country.
‘This inequality has got worse because of long-term issues that can’t be fixed by one specific policy.
‘On one level, this is what you would expect: the longer you live, the greater the pension is.
‘The problem we face is why those who are less well-off have shorter lives.
‘The way to try and prevent this is better public health campaigns around leading a healthier lifestyle.’
Director of Age UK Caroline Abrahams warned: ‘It’s clear from these statistics that raising the state pension age will particularly penalise those on lower incomes, who are more likely to live in deprived areas.’
Pensioners can withdraw their state pension at the age of 66, but this will rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 between 2044 and 2046.
There is debate about whether people who are likely to die earlier should retire earlier.
For example, in France, someone who started work rather than going into higher education can access the state pension sooner, as can those including miners, soldiers and police officers.
Steve added that this would be ‘fraught with challenges’ if done in this country.
He said: ‘For example, there would be ‘boundary issues’ where people living on two sides of the same street could have different state pension ages.
‘There would also be issues about people whose life was spent in a prosperous area, but claiming state pension from an address in a deprived area in order to access an earlier pension.
‘Similarly, any attempt to have lower state pension ages for those who had more physically demanding jobs are undermined by the lack of data on the jobs people have done over their lifetime.’
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