State pension alert as some Britons at ‘automatic disadvantage’ due to where they live | Personal Finance | Finance

However, in the South West, for instance, the average life expectancy is 80 for a man and 83.8 for a woman.

The gap between most and least deprived quintiles is 6.3 and 4.7 years respectively.

There have been several proposals in recent years to address the ways in which the Government could tackle differences and disparities between areas of the UK.

Mr Greer continued: “This includes introducing a more flexible approach that would allow people to take their state pension income earlier, perhaps at a reduced rate, in the same way that there is currently an option to delay the receipt of these payments in favour of a higher level of income when it is accessed. 

“This approach could support a wide array of people, not only those from regions with a lower life expectancy, but also those with terminal or life-limiting illness who are facing additional care costs and a cost-of-living crisis all while being unable to access the state pension benefits that they will unlikely ever see.