Suggest 3 different reasons why there is an ageing population in the uk.

Fertility Rate

In the UK, the fertility rate has been below replacement levels since the early 1970s. The average fertility is presently 1.94 but there are regional differences within this, with Scotland's fertility rate currently 1.77 compared with 2.04 in Northern Ireland. There is also a shift to higher mean pregnancy ages - women giving birth in 2009 were on average one year older (29.4) than those in 1999 (28.4).

There a lot of factors that have contributed to this change. These include improved availability and effectiveness of contraception; the rising costs of living; increasing female participation in the labour market; changing social attitudes; and the rise of individualism.

Work and Pensions

Longer retirement periods may lead to an increased level of pensioner poverty, especially amongst those who have not been able to pay into occupational schemes. Women are particularly vulnerable to this. They have a higher life expectancy than men and can lose their husband's pension support if he dies first. They are also more likely to have taken time out of the labor market to raise children or care for others, meaning they may not have saved enough for their retirement.

In response to this, the UK government recently announced plans to remove the fixed retirement age meaning that employers can no longer force people to retire once they reach 65. They have also announced plans to increase the retirement age for women from 60 to 65 by 2018. It will then be raised to 66 for both men & women by 2020. Employers are also being encouraged to employ older workers and specialist initiatives are being put in place to support older people in returning to work.

Life Expectancy

As medicine advances and older populations are healthier, they will live longer and thus the population as a whole will age.