Older Age

Breakthrough Britain: Care for Older People

• The fastest growing age group is those aged 80 years and over, who currently constitute 4.5% (2,749,507) of the total population. This age group has increased by over 1.1 million between 1981 and 2007 (1,572,160 to 2,749,507), from 2.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent.[i]
• In 2005 there were an estimated 11 million people of a state pensionable age –18.7% of the total population. By 2031, this figure is expected to rise to 15.3 million.[ii]
• 2.5 million pensioners (23%) live below the poverty line (£151 for single pensioners and £226 for a couple).[iii]
• Nearly a quarter (23%) of single female pensioners has no savings at all. For single male pensioners, it is 20% and for pensioner couples, it is 14%.[iv]
• Many pensioners in Local Authority care homes survive off the state’s meagre Personal Expense Allowance of just £21 a week.
• The estimated number of households in fuel poverty in the UK rose between 2006 and 2007 by 0.5 million, to stand at around 4 million.[v]
• £5 billion of pensioner benefits remain unclaimed each year.
• Experts warn that we are heading for a £6 billion funding gap in elder care in the next 20 years.
• A 65-year-old can expect to need care costing on average £30,000 during retirement.[vi]
• A place in a care home in England costs an average of £24‚000 per year while a nursing home place costs an average of £35‚000 pa.[vii]
• There is a great variation in both the quality and quantity of care provided by different Local Authorities. Launching a Green Paper on the state of social care in Britain,[viii]Health Secretary Andy Burnham described the current situation as a ‘cruel lottery’.
• There are between five and six million unpaid carers looking after a relative or friend. [ix] Carers are currently saving the UK economy an estimated £87 billion a year.[x]
• Clinical depression goes undiagnosed and untreated for 850,000 out of every 1 million elderly people – it is often brushed off by younger family members and even GPs as a symptom of old age that is to be endured rather than dealt with.[xi]

Older people can be among the most vulnerable members of society. Isolation, loneliness, bereavement, depression, failing health and immobility are some of the debilitating issues that affect elderly people. Poverty renders these factors all the more acute and family breakdown has meant that older people increasingly live without stable familial ties. With a rapidly ageing population, Britain must now face up to these changing realities and work out a responsible, sustainable and compassionate way to look after its elderly.

CHAIRMAN

Sara McKee (Chairman)
Sara McKee is Group Services Director of Anchor Trust. She was previously Group Commercial Director at A4e. Sara has over 20-years experience in commercial consumer-facing businesses, across a range of sectors including technology, retail, travel, training and employment internationally. Sara is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

WORKING GROUP