At least one in five workers will die before they get a pension if the retirement age is raised to 70, the TUC has claimed.

Research carried out on behalf of the trade union body showed that one in six people in England and Wales die before they reach 65 and a further 7% die before the age of 70.

TUC general Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Many commentators tell us that we can solve the pensions crisis if we all work longer before we retire. But these figures show that many will have to work until they literally drop if the retirement age is increased to 70.”

The report also revealed that in some deprived areas of the country one in three people - and almost half of all men - will not live to receive a state pension.