HC Deb 21 July 1944 vol 402 c487W
Major Woolley

asked the Minister of Health what is the expectancy of life for a spinster at the age of 55 and for a married woman at the age of 55, respectively.

Mr. Willink

On the basis of the most recent English Life Tables, which were Compiled in connection with the 1931 census of England and Wales, the conventional "expectation of life" at the age of 55 is about 20½ years for a single woman and about one-quarter of a year less for a married woman. There has since been an improvement in the longevity of the population, but information as to the distribution of the population is not available in sufficient detail to enable corresponding figures to the foregoing to be given on the basis of current mortality.—