FOI request: Life Expectancy by the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification

Request

I was interested to note that a colleague and friend made his decision to retire from a headship based on actuarial figures relating to the life expectancy of head teachers retiring at different ages eg 55 as opposed to 60. I made enquiries regarding such data for classroom teachers some time ago to the teachers pension scheme and they referred me to my union. Not a satisfactory response.
As a teacher considering pensions and retirement this information would be invaluable.
I would be grateful therefore if you are able supply data relating to the longevity of retired teachers based on their age at retirement. 1990 to date if possible would give a reasonable idea of trends.

Response

Thank you for your request. Unfortunately, the ONS do not produce longevity figures by individual occupation. Life Expectancy by NS-SEC statistics are produced using the Longitudinal Study dataset which represent 1% of the population, which means that sample sizes by individual occupation are very limited. In addition, there are no variables to indicate whether an individual is working, retired or the age of their retirement, so we cannot provide Life Expectancy figures of the retired or on retirement.

We have, however, produced Life Expectancy by the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification, which is a classification based on occupation. This indicates longevity from a given age on the basis of their NS-SEC class (or that of a family member if necessary) on point of entry to the study.  The article and bulletin can be found through the links below: see attachment (1) for Article and Bulletin:

These results are from 1982 to 2006, and are grouped into five-year periods, with the latest being 2002-06.

Teachers, we capture on the basis of these descriptions: see attachment (2) SOC 2000 code for teachers

All three are part of NS-SEC class 2.
Also, as seen, the only figures which have been released (see links above) are for birth and age 65, however, to further assist you with your research, we have provided you with figures for NS-SEC class 2, for ages 50, 55 and 60 to accompany those for age 65. Please find available on the spreadsheet: see attachment (3) (26 Kb Excel sheet)

Attachment (1)
Article: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hsq/health-statistics-quarterly/spring-2011/deriving-trends-in-life-expectancy-by-the-national-statistics-socio-economic-classification-using-the-ons-longitudinal-study.pdf
Bulletin: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/health-ineq/health-inequalities/trends-in-life-expectancy--1982---2006/trends-in-life-expectancy-by-the-national-statistics-socio-economic-classification-1982-2006.pdf

Attachment (2)

Attachment (3) (26 Kb Excel sheet)