Society ‘undervalues retired population’

Monday, 16 January 2012

So says a recent report into the financial contributions to society made by the UK’s older population. By Mature Times publisher Andrew Silk.

Regular readers of Mature Times will recall our lead story last month – ‘Hidden heroes – elderly will lead country through recession’ where we pointed out the economic benefits that older people provide the country ... without most even recognising it!

Well, if further evidence was needed of the hidden contribution that older people provide to the UK economy, then this comes in the form of a recent report published by insurance company MGM Advantage. This report shows that the UK’s retired population is contributing a staggering £25bn a year by way of childcare, charity and voluntary work – some £2,000 per person - most of which goes unnoticed by the populace as a whole!

To put this figure into perspective – it’s equivalent to the sum that David Cameron has recently been asked to contribute towards the European Union’s attempt to raise funds to save the Euro. But, as the report goes on to state, the contribution made by older people to society is not fully recognised and it further says that the government and society as a whole need to do more to understand the emotional, health and financial requirements of older people.

We have long campaigned at Mature Times for the rights of older people – indeed that is our mantra – and as society ages, then the problems, not just financial, that are facing this sector of the population will increase. Older people really are the fabric that keeps society going and link the generations, particularly within families.

How many women who have children can now go to work because of the support and childcare provided by grandparents? How many older people are unpaid carers for spouses or other family members? We don’t know the answers to these questions – but what we do know is that £25bn is a lot of money – and a lot of people hours.

Revealing

What is also revealed are some quite frightening figures on how older people are treated and valued – or not, as the case may be. In fact some 30 per cent of retired people surveyed felt that they were undervalued by society with only 14 per cent actually feeling valued whilst the remaining 55 per cent say that they are sometimes treated badly.

And the issue of nomenclature was also raised in the report with people tending to shun the more old fashioned terms of reference for older people such as OAP’s (only 2 per cent of people were happy to be called this) and only 1 per cent of people surveyed described themselves as ‘old’.

However, the biggest worries facing people in retirement were understandably seen as being failing health (55 per cent) and lack of money (35 per cent). Inevitably, as we grow older then the body starts to evidence more cases of wear and tear, and as age advances the certainty is that health problems will advance as well. But the report also highlighted an alarming lack of knowledge or understanding of the long-term care system in the UK – with some 21 per cent of people surveyed admitting that they had no idea how they would fund any long-term care that they may need whilst a further 28 per cent (probably wrongly) believed that the state would provide them with the support they needed.

To view the full report visit www.mgmadvantage.co.uk.