A shift is occurring in British government policy from State planning to individual planning. This emphasis on individual planning makes assumptions about people's capacity to plan for the future; in particular, it assumes that people have similar capacities to plan ahead. In-depth interviews with 41 people of different ages and social groups by the researchers at the University of Bath explored people's views on and current plans for their future lives. Presents the findings.
A shift is occurring in British government policy from State planning to individual planning. This emphasis on individual planning makes assumptions about people's capacity to plan for the future; in particular, it assumes that people have similar capacities to plan ahead. In-depth interviews with 41 people of different ages and social groups by the researchers at the University of Bath explored people's views on and current plans for their future lives. Presents the findings.
Subject terms:
pensions, planning, social policy, ageing, attitudes;
In the last twenty years there have been two major developments in the organisation and delivery of services to people with learning difficulties - segregated living in a long-stay hospitals is being replaced by community placements, and more people with learning difficulties are surviving into older age. A study based in the North West of 120 people living in the community, either with their families or informal care.
In the last twenty years there have been two major developments in the organisation and delivery of services to people with learning difficulties - segregated living in a long-stay hospitals is being replaced by community placements, and more people with learning difficulties are surviving into older age. A study based in the North West of 120 people living in the community, either with their families or informal care.
Subject terms:
severe learning disabilities, social care provision, surveys, ageing, community care;
The UK lacks an adequate system for paying for long-term care. It falls short in three main ways: In overall funding levels, there are already signs that needs are going unmet. Without change, private individuals will have to foot a growing share of rising costs, and many will find this hard to afford. In coherence, multiple funding streams create confusing and sometimes irrational, overlapping ways of paying for care. In fairness, in terms of the way costs and responsibilities are shared, family carers often feel unsupported. Means-testing causes widespread resentment by taking away most of people's assets and income before they can get state help.
The UK lacks an adequate system for paying for long-term care. It falls short in three main ways: In overall funding levels, there are already signs that needs are going unmet. Without change, private individuals will have to foot a growing share of rising costs, and many will find this hard to afford. In coherence, multiple funding streams create confusing and sometimes irrational, overlapping ways of paying for care. In fairness, in terms of the way costs and responsibilities are shared, family carers often feel unsupported. Means-testing causes widespread resentment by taking away most of people's assets and income before they can get state help.
Subject terms:
long term care, older people, social policy, ageing, carers, families, financing;
Wealth inequality in Britain is very extreme - the top 10 per cent of the populations owns half of all wealth. Secondary analysis of the 1995/6 Family Resources Survey, along with 40 in-depth interviews with families, sheds new light on the relationship between income, wealth and different stages of the lifecycle. Outlines the findings.
Wealth inequality in Britain is very extreme - the top 10 per cent of the populations owns half of all wealth. Secondary analysis of the 1995/6 Family Resources Survey, along with 40 in-depth interviews with families, sheds new light on the relationship between income, wealth and different stages of the lifecycle. Outlines the findings.
Three samples of over 1,500 people aged 65 and over were followed up between 1986/7 and 1992/3. The study aimed to explore what is 'successful' ageing in terms of what sustains well-being and quality of life. The study, by the authors of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and King's College London.
Three samples of over 1,500 people aged 65 and over were followed up between 1986/7 and 1992/3. The study aimed to explore what is 'successful' ageing in terms of what sustains well-being and quality of life. The study, by the authors of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and King's College London.
Older people's perceptions about their own incomes and their opinion of alternative policy options are not often referred to when considering pension policies. New analysis of the British Social Attitudes Surveys, by researchers at the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College London.
Older people's perceptions about their own incomes and their opinion of alternative policy options are not often referred to when considering pension policies. New analysis of the British Social Attitudes Surveys, by researchers at the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College London.
Subject terms:
income, older people, policy, social policy, taxation, ageing, attitudes;
Ageing is not just about decline, nor even about maintaining an even keel. It is also about seeing and seizing opportunities and actively managing transition and loss. However, there is considerable variation in the resources available to people to deal with changes that accompany ageing. Central to a 'good life' in old age is the value attached to inter-dependence: being part of a community where people care about and look out for each other; a determination 'not to be a burden' especially on close family; and an emphasis on mutual help and reciprocal relationships. The essence of 'ageing well' is the ability to sustain inter-dependent lives and relationships that meet needs for intimacy, comfort, support, companionship and fun. Threats to life quality include not only bereavement
Ageing is not just about decline, nor even about maintaining an even keel. It is also about seeing and seizing opportunities and actively managing transition and loss. However, there is considerable variation in the resources available to people to deal with changes that accompany ageing. Central to a 'good life' in old age is the value attached to inter-dependence: being part of a community where people care about and look out for each other; a determination 'not to be a burden' especially on close family; and an emphasis on mutual help and reciprocal relationships. The essence of 'ageing well' is the ability to sustain inter-dependent lives and relationships that meet needs for intimacy, comfort, support, companionship and fun. Threats to life quality include not only bereavement and ill health, but 'daily hassles' and their cumulative impact. The localities where older people live are of enormous importance. As they get frailer, their lives are increasingly affected by, and bounded within, their immediate physical and social environments. Appropriate and sensitive services should reflect older people's values and capacities and their desire for an 'ordinary life': 'sufficient' and secure income, social and intimate relationships, stimulating and interesting activities, accessible and timely information, support to manage things that pose difficulties, a comfortable, clean, safe environment, and a sense of belonging to and participating in communities and wider society. Locality-based service models offer the potential to connect the values and preferences of older people within a network of community groups to support a 'good old age' and provide a significant bridge between communities and statutory services. The experiences and views of older people offer insights into the services and support needed to sustain their well-being.
Subject terms:
independence, leisure, leisure activities, quality of life, social care provision, ageing, communities, dependency;
Long-term care spending in the UK would need to rise by around 315 per cent in real terms between 2000 and 2051, to meet demographic pressures and allow for real rises in care costs, if dependency rates, patterns of care and funding arrangements remain unchanged. On this basis, spending on long-term care would need to increase from about 1.4 per cent of GDP in 2000 to around 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2051, assuming a real increase of 2.25 per cent a year in GDP. This projection of 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2051 using the 2002-based official population projections updates an earlier projection of 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2051 using the 2000-based population projections. These projections are sensitive to assumptions about trends in life expectancy, dependency rates and real unit costs of care, as well as changes in patterns of care and funding systems.Public expenditure on long-term care is projected to reach around 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2051 under current funding arrangements and around 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2051 under a policy of free personal care with an assumed 25 per cent increase in demand for domiciliary services. The share of total long-term care costs met publicly is projected to be almost 80 per cent in 2051 under a policy of free personal care, as against around 66 per cent under current funding arrangements.
Long-term care spending in the UK would need to rise by around 315 per cent in real terms between 2000 and 2051, to meet demographic pressures and allow for real rises in care costs, if dependency rates, patterns of care and funding arrangements remain unchanged. On this basis, spending on long-term care would need to increase from about 1.4 per cent of GDP in 2000 to around 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2051, assuming a real increase of 2.25 per cent a year in GDP. This projection of 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2051 using the 2002-based official population projections updates an earlier projection of 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2051 using the 2000-based population projections. These projections are sensitive to assumptions about trends in life expectancy, dependency rates and real unit costs of care, as well as changes in patterns of care and funding systems.Public expenditure on long-term care is projected to reach around 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2051 under current funding arrangements and around 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2051 under a policy of free personal care with an assumed 25 per cent increase in demand for domiciliary services. The share of total long-term care costs met publicly is projected to be almost 80 per cent in 2051 under a policy of free personal care, as against around 66 per cent under current funding arrangements.
Subject terms:
long stay care, long term care, older people, patients, planning, ageing, costs, economics, expenditure;
This literature review shows that: The numbers (and proportions) of older people from black and minority ethnic communities have risen rapidly, from 60,000 in 1981 to over 350,000 in 2001. Although the numbers have grown from being quite small, this is not a new area of research. The impact of ageing (in terms of health and support needs) happens at a comparatively younger age among many minority
This literature review shows that: The numbers (and proportions) of older people from black and minority ethnic communities have risen rapidly, from 60,000 in 1981 to over 350,000 in 2001. Although the numbers have grown from being quite small, this is not a new area of research. The impact of ageing (in terms of health and support needs) happens at a comparatively younger age among many minority communities. Black and minority ethnic older people are more likely to face a greater level of poverty, live in poorer quality housing, and have poorer access to benefits and pensions than 'white' older people. Myths about minority ethnic communities need challenging: there is not necessarily an extended family which "looks after its own". Older people from different communities may share experiences of ageism and racism, but the circumstances of Chinese, Afro-Caribbean or Asian older people may require different approaches and solutions. As well as endorsing many of these findings, the consultation groups raised the following issues: Access to majority services for black and minority ethnic older people remains problematic. Barriers include language issues, knowledge of what is available, and the attitudes and practices of service providers. Older people felt that community-based voluntary organisations were more likely to reflect their needs; such organisations are, however, the least financially secure. Older people said that they had been over-researched, with researchers often asking the same questions (or producing the same findings) as had been evident 15 years ago. They did not want yet more research for its own sake. They wanted action that would bring about change and to be involved in decisions that affected their own lives - locally and nationally.
Subject terms:
literature reviews, older people, poverty, social care provision, statistical methods, ageing, black and minority ethnic people, demographics;
People are living longer but on average leaving the workforce younger, not always at a time of their own choosing. This has important implications for retirement incomes and for economic and social participation in later life. Since 2000, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has supported a research programme on how people are making transitions in work and towards retirement after age 50. This research sheds new light on people’s experiences in the workforce, the manner in which they leave it and what is happening to over-fifties outside paid work. Findings reveal in particular the complexity of modern pathways out of work and factors that influence them: simple financial sticks and carrots are unlikely on their own to change retirement behaviour greatly.
People are living longer but on average leaving the workforce younger, not always at a time of their own choosing. This has important implications for retirement incomes and for economic and social participation in later life. Since 2000, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has supported a research programme on how people are making transitions in work and towards retirement after age 50. This research sheds new light on people’s experiences in the workforce, the manner in which they leave it and what is happening to over-fifties outside paid work. Findings reveal in particular the complexity of modern pathways out of work and factors that influence them: simple financial sticks and carrots are unlikely on their own to change retirement behaviour greatly.