'One third of babies born in 2012 could live upto 100 yrs'

London, Nov 12: Long life ahead! A third of new generation

are expected to survive to celebrate their 100th birthday, thanks to improvement in living standards and medicine, a new study claims.

Dubbed the "new centenarians" because they have a one in three chance of reaching the age of 100, today's babies will work until the age of 70, be saddled with student debt until 52 and get married eight years later than their grandparents, researchers say.

The report predicts a dramatically different life for these babies from the one experienced by their parents and grandparents, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

It assumes the parents of these new centenarians were born in 1983 and their grandparents were born in 1957.

On average, a new centenarian will have their first baby at the age of 31, which is two years later than their parents and five years later than their grandparents, who had their first child at 26.

The report expects "an increasing proportion of people will either have no children or just one child", with many blaming the huge cost of living.

While their grandparents typically got married at the age of 25 and spent 4,400 pounds on their wedding, the new centenarian will walk up the aisle at 33 and spend around 39,000 pounds.

In their twenties, they will face "a hat-trick of financial pressures" unlike those experienced by either their parents or grandparents.

The report by a Scottish investment firm is based on interviews with 1,000 parents with children under the age of five as well as an analysis of official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

It paints a bleak picture of life as young adults: They will face the stresses of saving for their first home, paying off student loans which average 52,000 pounds and starting a pension to pay for the longest retirements in history.

The study predicts that they will retire at the age of 70, while their parents left their jobs at the age of 66 and their grandparents when they were 63.

Baby girls are even more likely to reach the landmark birthday, with 39 per cent of girls born this year getting to 100, compared to 32 per cent of boys, it said.

PTI