The UK state pension is one of the worst in Europe providing just 58 per cent of previous earnings from work, below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) average of 62 per cent.
Those people who have to rely on the pension as a main or only source of income are facing a very bleak financial future.
There are almost 11 million people aged 65 and over, 19 per cent of the total population.
In ten years’ time, this will have increased to almost 13 million people or 22 per cent of the population.
A comprehensive review of national data on ageing makes clear, a financially secure and healthy later life is becoming increasingly unlikely for millions of people. With the population ageing rapidly, the number of people at risk is growing at an alarming rate.
The latest data shows a sharp increase in pensioner poverty meaning that almost one in five, some two million people are now living in poverty.
In a period when the state pension age has risen to 66, employment rates among people approaching retirement age have fallen to their lowest levels since 2016.
The number of older people renting rather than owning their homes has reached an all time high. These factors have major implications for people’s financial security and for the quality of their homes as they age.
Also the number of people in later life are living on their own, many without the traditional family structures that our approach to ageing has relied on, has been increasing, with 1.3 million men aged 65 and over living alone, up 67 per cent between 2000 and 2019.
These trends confirm that England is becoming a more challenging country to grow old in. Of course the pandemic has contributed to many problems, but they are ultimately longer term issues that have been developing for some time which will have implications for housing and social care.
So instead of ignoring the ageing population in the recent Spring Statement these issues will require some concerted action from central government as these issues will not go away.
Rodney Sadd
Vice chairman
South Holland & The Deepings CLP
