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Issue Description
Medical advances mean we are all living longer: but with the percentage of the UK population who are over 65 predicted to rise by over 60% in the next 25 years, does society have the resources to cope with an ageing population? Older people are already at risk of fuel poverty and the cost of care in older age is prohibitive. Meanwhile, young people are not planning for older age and face an even bleaker future than their parents and grandparents. This book looks at the financial and social implications of an ageing population, covering issues such as the economics of ageing, isolation, elder abuse, care issues and health in older age.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- There are nearly 12 million pensioners, almost one in five of the UK’s total population. (page 3)
- Current life expectancy aged 65 is 84.7 for women and 81.9 for men. At birth, they are 81.3 and 76.9 respectively. (page 3)
- 73% of older people in Great Britain agree that age discrimination exists in the daily lives of older people. (page 4)
- In 1950, 8 out of every 100 people were over 60. By 2050, 22 out of every 100 people will be over 60. (page 5)
- Ageing is a global phenomenon. The world’s elderly population – people 60 years of age and older – is the fastest growing age group. By 2050 about 80% of the elderly will be living in developing countries. (page 6)
- 4% or 342,400 elderly people were neglected or abused in the last year by family, close friends and care workers, neighbours and acquaintances. (page 18)
- Far from retiring quietly, young people today expect to be able to afford the things they enjoy now when they retire with foreign holidays, satellite TV and gym membership as standard. With over half the nation’s under 34-year-olds not saving anything at all, they are at risk of becoming the ‘big dreams, small assets’ generation. (page 21)
- Britain’s pension crisis is set to escalate, a study has warned, with a generation of adults facing the triple pressure of the financial ‘hat trick’ scenario of supporting both their parents and their own children, whilst having no financial plans to safeguard their own future either. (page 22)
- There are inequalities in life expectancy estimates between social class groups based on occupation. If the current trends continue, those from the lowest social class groups may experience declining life expectancy at State Pension Age in 2021 to 2051. (page 34)
- There are 700,000 people with dementia in the UK. This will rise to over 1 million people by 2025 and 1.7 million by 2051. (page 35)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Ageing Trends
The ageing process, What is ageing?, Older people in the UK, Facts and figures: global ageing, 10 facts on ageing and the life course, Profile of the UK’s older people, Age discrimination, Number of working pensioners continues to rise, Knowledge of age laws increasing, Work experienced, Plans to outlaw age discrimination announced, Ignoring old age won’t keep you young, Reinventing the retirement cliff edge, Dignified conclusions, Loneliness a major worry, Prevalence of elder abuse.
Chapter Two: The Cost of Ageing
Retirees spending freely, Life begins at 55, Aim high, save low, Next generation of Brits facing bleak future, Pensions Act 2007, Pension could protect world’s poorest, "UK state pension is worst in Europe", Charging into poverty, Care homes, Huge public worries about quality of care, Funding long-term care, Out of sight, out of mind.
Chapter Three: Ageing and Health
Why do we age?, Why do we die?, Lounging around could speed up ageing process, Increasing life expectancy, Life expectancy and healthy ageing, What is dementia?, Who is affected by Alzheimer’s disease?, Reversing the signs of Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s disease to quadruple by 2050, Fear of dementia, Seniors playground swings into action.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: An Ageing Population - Volume 159
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: 978 1 86168 475 2