£65bn cuts needed to cope with ageing population Britain will need another £65 billion in tough austerity measures to manage the impact the ageing population has on its already-creaking public finances, the tax and spending watchdog warned today. In its annual fiscal sustainability report, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said extra tax hikes or spending cuts will be needed from April 2018 to keep finances under control until 2061. This comes on top of George Osborne's £123 billion, seven-year fiscal consolidation programme, which includes hundreds of thousands of public sector job losses, an overhaul of the welfare system and a higher pension age. The ageing population is the key driver behind the pressure on public finances, as spending on health care and pensions increases, while dwindling tax revenues from sources such as North Sea oil interests could also have an impact. The OBR report said: "In the absence of offsetting tax increases or spending cuts this would widen budget deficits over time and eventually put public sector net debt on an unsustainable upward trajectory. It is likely that such a path would lead to lower long-term economic growth and higher interest rates, exacerbating the fiscal problem. The UK, it should be said, is far from unique in facing such pressures.