Government plans to increase the state pension age to 68 have been blasted as “bonkers” in a town where average life expectancy is a low as 67.
For decades the seaside resort of Blackpool has been a much-loved destination for millions of holidaymakers.
But away from the bright lights of the illuminations and the thrills and spills of the Pleasure Beach rides, there are large pockets of poverty.
In 2019 the resort had eight of the 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in England, according to government figures.
And in Blackpool’s Bloomfield ward, in the shadow of the town’s Bloomfield Road football ground, the average life expectancy of men is just 67 years and three months.
Builder Alex Johnston, 24, said the government’s pension plan was “bonkers”.
Alex from nearby Lytham St Annes, who was refurbishing a shop close to the stadium, said: “If the life expectancy is younger than the age of retirement, something is going wrong.
“Even when people do get their pensions they still have to live modestly most of the time.”
He added: “It is not really possible for us in the construction industry to work to that age.
"I have been doing this for five or six years and can already feel the toll it is taking on my body because of the amount of heavy lifting we have to do.
“With a lot of the hazardous materials we have to deal with, the dust, even with the PPE we wear, it is still a higher risk for respiratory problems, which will probably end up lowering our life expectancy.”
Leanne Hewitt, 38, who runs a nearby electrical goods store, fears the state pension age is heading towards “the mid 70’s”.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get my state pension, the way things are going” she said.
“We will be literally working into our graves.
“People are trying to get as much work as we can, just to be able to eat, just to be able to live.
“And life expectancy is going to go down, if people can’t afford to eat or keep themselves warm.”
Her assistant Cat Barry, 39, said: “We are looking at getting our pensions in another 30 years, but by then the state pension age will have gone up again.
"And people will not be able to physically do it.”
She added: “People have worked all their lives, and for what, to be told you have to work longer?
“Even when they do retire, the money is not enough to live on because the cost of living has gone up so much.
“I had a private pension but I had to stop it because I could not afford to keep paying into it.”
John O’Connor, 34, runs a hotel in the Bloomfield ward with his partner Louise Brown, 35.
He said: “My dad is 62 and he has another five years to go before he gets his pension and he has worked all his life, and now they want to increase it again? It is wrong.
“It is a joke, especially when you look at the life expectancy around here.
“The retirement age should be getting lower, not higher.”
Louise said: “We are going to end up working until we die.
"People are not going to be able to enjoy their retirement.
“People who work hard and would be looking forward to retirement now face working longer.”
She added: “Saving is the best thing you can do if you want to take early retirement but not everybody is in a position to do that, especially now.”
