More than 7500 received card from The Queen this year
The team at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that traces those about to have their 100th, 105th and each birthday afterwards forwarded details of 7,517 people on to the Palace to issue a Centenarian card this year.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates a total of 13,780 people are aged 100 or more in the UK – a rise of 70% in a decade. This compares with 8,060 centenarians in 2003.
Most recent estimates show of the 797,000 babies less than 1 year old living in the UK in 2013, 123,000 boys and 151,000 girls are expected to live until their 100th birthday in 2113.
Women reaching 100 this year will have started receiving the State Pension in 1974 – when the basic State Pension was £10 a week.
Men reaching 100 in 2014 will have hit State Pension age in 1979 – when the basic State Pension was £23.30.
The basic State Pension now stands at £113.10 and will rise to £115.95 from April 2015.
Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said: “It is a massive source of celebration that more of us are living longer fuller lives and thousands of centenarians have celebrated their 100th birthday with a very special card.
Our reforms will ensure the State Pension remains strong for future generations and I am proud we are protecting today’s pensioners with the Triple Lock meaning the basic State Pension is at the highest percentage of earnings since 1992.
Centenarian team leader Margaret Wilberforce-Eke said: “Every day we help families mark amazing celebrations. Reaching 100 might be becoming more common, but it is still very special for all those involved.
It is a privilege to be involved in just a small part of these birthdays – but we hear back that receiving a card is the perfect finishing touch for a great day.”
Throughout their lives, these centenarians born in 1914 have lived through 2 world wars, the Cold War and the rise of the information age.
They turned 21 in 1935, when:
- the board game Monopoly was released in the United States
- Porky Pig made his debut
- Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister
They turned 40 in 1954, when:
- Hancock’s Half Hour debuted on BBC radio
- Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia
- Roger Bannister ran the first 4 minute mile
They hit 60 in 1974, when:
- Richard Nixon announced his resignation
- Ceefax started
- the Rubik’s Cube was invented
They hit 80 in 1994, when:
- Labour party leader John Smith died suddenly
- Four Weddings and a Funeral was released
- First UK National Lottery draw took place.
British citizens receive cards on their 100th, 105th and every subsequent birthday from the Queen and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Only British Nationals receive a card from the Queen, other nationalities receive a card from the Secretary of State.