State pension future in doubt as 1 in 5 Britons to be eligible for payments by 2032 amid population boom

Based on these statistics, the number of people at state pension age is estimated to go up by 1.7 million between mid-2022 and mid-2032, with 13.7 million claiming payments by the end of the period.

This means that around 18.9 per cent of the population will be on the state pension or around one in five people. Around one in 11 people will be aged over 75, under current projections.

This forecast also take into account for the confirmed increases in the state pension age to 67 which will come into effect next year, however further hikes before 2032 could come into effect.

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In recent years, concerns have been raised about long-term affordability of the retirement benefit during the rising cost of the state pension in the UK on the taxpayer.

Based on figures from Treasury, payments will cost around £137.5billion in 2024–2025, meaning 55 per cent of the Government's social security will be spent on pensioners.

The triple lock, which is the metric used to determine annual rate rises, has came under particular fire. Payments increase by either the rate of average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent; whichever is highest.

In response to this, The Longevity Centre has floated raising the state pension age to 71 in order ease financial pressure on the public purse.

Figures from the ONS found that the overall population of the UK is projected to rise by 7.3 per cent between 2022 and 2032, a sharp jump from the increase of 6.1 per cent over the previous 10 years.

England’s population is projected to grow more quickly than other nations in Britain, increasing by 7.8 per cent, compared with 5.9 per cent for Wales, 4.4 per cent for Scotland and 2.1 per cent for Northern Ireland.

Furthermore, the ONS gave a further projection for population growth for the 25 years between mid-2022 and mid-2047, with the populace to go up by 13.2 per cent to 8.9 million.

In comparison, this is lower than the previous 25 years, from 1997 to 2022, when the population is forecast to have increased by 9.3 million, or 15.9 per cent.

Andrew Oxdale from Fidelity International previously warned about the rising cost of the state pension on the British taxpayer and that action may be need to be taken.

He explained: "When the pension was introduced in 1909, it applied to people from age 70. But average life expectancy from birth was just 52. Between 1951 and 2020, life expectancy increased by 10 years. It is projected to rise by another four years by 2070.

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"While longer lifespans are something to celebrate, they come with additional state costs. The ‘triple lock’ is a further complication. It guarantees a minimum rise of 2.5 per cent each year or the higher of inflation or wages.

"As a result, State Pension payments have grown relatively quickly over the past decade. The bulge in Baby Boomers reaching retirement further increases the cost pressure.

"The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the cost of the state pension as a percentage of GDP to rise from 4.8 per cent to 8.1 per cent by 2071. The stated aim has been to keep it below six per cent a level it would breach somewhere in the late 2040s.

"The primary ways to mitigate this are either slower rises in the State Pension, which would involve watering down or abandoning the triple lock, or to increase the age of state pension eligibility."