“How long am I going to live?” is a question many of us think about more as we get older. One simple way to explore this is by using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) life expectancy calculator. According to the latest data, a one-year-old boy is expected to live to around 87, while a girl of the same age is expected to reach 91. At age 65, the averages are around 85 for men and 88 for women.
However, these figures only tell part of the story. They are based on averages, and not everyone will follow the same path. For example, at age 65, there is a one in four chance that a man will live to 92 and a woman to 95.
The data also reflects the whole UK population, combining people with very different lifestyles and health factors. This includes both smokers and non-smokers, which can have a significant impact on outcomes. There are also notable regional differences. Research from the ONS shows that male life expectancy at birth can vary by as much as ten years between areas such as Blackpool and Kensington and Chelsea.
The key takeaway is that life expectancy is not a fixed number. It is a range influenced by lifestyle, location, and individual circumstances, all of which are important to consider when planning for the future.
One aspect of the how-long-will-I-live question, which attracts less attention, is healthy life expectancy. The ONS defines this as a measure of health-related wellbeing that represents the average time an individual is expected to live in “very good” or “good” general health, based on how individuals perceive their general health. The latest ONS research, published in February 2026 using 2022–24 data, shows that at birth, men can expect to have a healthy life expectancy of 60.7 years, and women, 60.9 years.
Those figures are down by 1.8 years and 2.5 years, respectively, from the previous three-year non-overlapping period (2019–21).
Similar issues about averages and the bundling of different lifestyles and regions apply to the analysis of healthy life expectancy as to general life expectancy. However, the point that stands out is the gap between the two. This has important consequences for financial planning, particularly for retirement provision. Building a reserve fund to help with the costs of failing health should be part of any long-term plan.
The value of your investment and any income from it can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested.
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