The latest statistics for life expectancy have shown a very clear north-south divide in the UK.
Nine of the top 10 areas surround London, while the bottom 10 are based in the north and Scotland.
Kingston-upon-Thames have the highest life-expectancy after retirement in the UK by postal area, while Sunderland has the lowest.
According to experts from Willis Tower Watson this is because people living in the ring around London have an increased chance of having less stressful careers and higher pay.
Hemel Hempstead, Guildford, Slough and St Albans make up the rest of the top five, with sixth placed Harrogate in North Yorkshire the only area located outside the South East.
In contrast, the ten postal areas of the country with the lowest life expectancy in retirement are all found in the North of England and Scotland, according to the study of mortality rates amongst people receiving private sector occupational pensions.
Pensioners in the Sunderland postal area are expected to die at a younger average age than anywhere else in the country, while Liverpool, Hull, Motherwell and Wigan make up the remainder of the bottom five.
Stephen Caine, senior mortality consultant at Willis Towers Watson said: “There are distinct differences in life expectancy in different areas of the country, but in reality it is not the geography itself that is important, it’s the economic and lifestyle factors that are indicative of residents in different areas of the country.
"What this research highlights is that pensioners living in the outer ring surrounding London are the most likely to have had well-paid jobs and to have enjoyed a relatively comfortable and healthy working life which, alongside other factors, are strongly linked to longer lifespans.”
In Kingston-upon-Thames, a man aged 65, retiring with a pension size and background typical to the area could expect to live to just under 89 years on average, and a woman to just over 90 years.
In Sunderland the figure is 85.5 years for men – over three years less than in Kingston – and just over 89 years for women, a far less dramatic reduction than for men.
Caine said, “Postcodes, when used in tandem with other factors, are a powerful predictor of life expectancy and are used by many areas of the financial services industry.
"For example insurers take postcode into account when people go to buy a pension annuity at retirement.
"Similarly for employers that support a defined benefit pension scheme, our postcode mortality analysis helps those running the scheme understand the life expectancy of their own membership in order to better judge how much money needs to be put aside now to pay pensions in future.”
Top 10 Postal Areas for life expectancy:
- Kingston upon Thames - 89.74
- Hemel Hempstead - 89.71
- Guildford - 89.71
- Slough - 89.70
- St Albans - 89.49
- Harrogate - 89.47
- Redhill - 89.43
- Bromley - 89.31
- Harrow - 89.31
- Watford - 89.28
Bottom 10 Postal Areas for life expectancy:
- Sunderland -87.50
- Liverpool - 87.62
- Hull - 87.64
- Motherwell - 87.66
- Wigan - 87.77
- Manchester - 87.81
- Glasgow - 87.87
- Durham - 87.90
- Darlington - 87.9
- Sheffield - 87.95
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