In the UK today, 17 million people, or almost 30 per cent of the population, are over the age of 55.
In this year’s election, they will cast more than four out of every 10 votes. The sheer numbers of people voting who are aged over 55 means that no party can afford to ignore the concerns and demands of older people; demands for respect, support, money, health and participation.
In later life people want to see policies that allow everyone to age with dignity and respect and reward people for their lifelong contributions to society. They want policies which are affordable; which reflect the economic realities of an ageing society; and which do not penalise people who have saved and planned ahead. Finally, they want policies which enshrine fairness; challenging ageist prejudice in society and treating everyone as people first and foremost, forgetting about age.
That’s why Age UK, the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged, has launched its manifesto for the general election, Our Power is Our Number. Our three top priorities for politicians of all parties are to abolish forced retirement, commit to fundamental reform of the care system and re-index the state pension to earnings.
Alongside our manifesto, we are publishing shocking research which shows that in the last year around 100,000 people were forced to retire, as a result of the default retirement age. Over 90 per cent of people aged 60-70 want an end to this law, which forces perfectly capable, engaged and experienced people out of the workforce every day.
The current rule strips job security from hundreds of thousands. It can be used by employers to dismiss employees, to cut staff numbers while dodging redundancy payouts and to prevent organisations adapting to an ageing society. With just under half a million employees over the age of 65, this affects a substantial minority of the working population. Pushing people out of jobs often creates financial difficulties for individuals. At a time when we are being encouraged to work for longer and to take responsibility for our own retirement savings, it makes no sense for this huge barrier to remain in place.
Pushing people out of work can not only cause severe financial distress, it robs older workers of their dignity. ‘I feel “date stamped” across my forehead – 65 and worthless,’ one forced retiree told us. There is no evidence to suggest the performance of older workers declines with age; on the contrary, organisations often benefit from the considerable knowledge and experience of older members of staff. The idea that older workers block jobs for younger workers is not backed up by evidence. In the 1980s recession, encouraging early retirement did not affect the jobless total among younger people. The formality and ill-feeling that often surrounds forced retirement does not allow people to enjoy a dignified exit from the workplace.
We want all political parties to commit to end this blatant example of age discrimination and to create an environment in which older workers feel valued for their experience and contributions.
Social care reform has been in the news a lot recently. The demand for high-quality health and social care services is going to increase dramatically as our population continues to age. We welcome the spotlight on such an important issue, but it must not become a political football between the parties. Age UK is calling for all political parties to set out definitive plans for reforming the entire care and support system. We need long-term solutions to care reform for older people now and for generations to come.
Radical reform of the care and support system must be taken forward as an urgent priority. Publicly-funded care at present is in crisis, placing huge strain on families. Everyone should be entitled to decent care, to help us all to stay independent for as long as possible. Care must be affordable, both for those receiving care and for taxpayers, and it must enshrine the principles of dignity, fairness, autonomy and simplicity.
The debate about the costs of care is important. In the current political climate, deciding who will pay for improvements in social care will be crucial to ensuring changes to the system are sustainable. But it is vital that we do not lose sight of improving the quality and accessibility of social care services. Surely designing a new social care system to meet people’s needs and aspirations should come before decisions are taken on how much money will be made available to achieve this.
We want to see more being done to support carers, who provide vital support willingly, unconditionally and often at great personal cost. The work that they do is estimated to be worth £87bn per year – without it, the costs of paid-for care would be unsustainable. Older carers should be front and centre of the debate about social care reform. They are the unsung workforce that props up our crumbling social care service; their voices are vital to its future reform.
No one should have to endure a calamitous reduction in their standard of living when they retire. Yet, despite progress over the last decade, poverty is still commonplace, millions of people struggle to make ends meet and experiences of later life are characterised by massive inequalities. While some people have been fortunate enough to benefit from good occupational pension schemes and can look forward to a comfortable retirement, far too many people remain reliant on the state and a pension system designed merely to prevent absolute destitution. For all the talk of affluent retirement lifestyles, it remains the case that 45 per cent of pensioner couples and
73 per cent of single pensioners receive over half their income from state pensions and benefits.
Pension reforms due to be delivered in the next parliament must not be allowed to slide. These include re-linking the basic state pension with earnings and the automatic enrolment of all employees into occupational pension schemes or the new National Employment Savings Trust. In particular, the commitment to restore the link between the basic state pension and earnings must be honoured by 2012, the date indicated by the government when it responded to Lord Turner’s Pensions Commission. Pushing back re-indexation from 2012 to 2015 would save little for the government, but would push thousands more pensioners into poverty. The incoming government should build on these reforms and set out a long term commitment to eradicate pensioner poverty, as the current government has done in the case for child poverty. One way of achieving this, and building cross-party momentum for action, would be to establish a short commission of inquiry to assess the most cost-effective way of progressively eradicating pensioner poverty.
In 2005, three-quarters of people aged over 65 voted, compared to just 37 per cent of those aged 18-25. In more places than ever older voters will cast the majority of votes. These votes will be for more say and more control in service provision; for being able to grow older without fearing poverty or loss of dignity; and fundamentally for a happy and secure later life for everyone. Older people are not a voting bloc; they are a diverse group with different interests, issues and experiences. But they will help to decide the outcome of the next election and politicians need to listen to them.