Read: The inequalities of ageing
How long you live and how well you age are down to a postcode lottery, with the gap in wealth and health between the richest and poorest growing as people get older.
A new report by the Centre for Ageing Better has revealed shocking evidence of the impact of accumulated inequality in many of our communities. It provides a detailed picture of older people, based on a wealth of data including from the 2021 Census, but also reflects what older people themselves have said about their lives.
Since the early 1980s the number of people aged 65 and over has increased by almost 50%, and there are almost three times as many people aged 85 and over as there were 40 years ago. Almost 40 per cent of the population is now over 50 and nearly 20 per cent over 65. Older age groups are also becoming more diverse, with the number of people aged 60 and over from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds increasing by 2011 since the 2011 Census. With over twice the number in these groups in their 40s as in their 60s, that proportion is set to increase over the coming decades. The report highlights how those from ethnic backgrounds face some of the greatest inequalities.
When people in the most deprived areas of the country reach the age of 65, they have twice as many years of ill-health ahead of them as those in the least deprived areas. Figures show that older people in the north of England die earlier, spend more years in poor health and are more likely to be out of work compared with their contemporaries in the south. The life expectancy difference is most acute between people in the North East and the South East, with men living an average of three years less and women 2.6 years less. In the most deprived postcodes, the situation is even worse with life expectancy for men at 73.5 years, almost 10 years less than in the least deprived areas, where it is 83.2 years. For women the difference is eight years - 78.3 compared to 86.3 years.
The North East has the largest proportion of older people in poor health, with one in three in poor health, compared with one in five in the South East. That gap increases with age with almost half of people aged over 65 in the North East reporting they are not in good health, compared to just over a third in the South East. There are also huge variations within cities. In London, for example, rates of bad or very bad health among people aged 65 and over range from just seven per cent in the City of London to 35 per cent in the neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets.
The report contains insights into other aspects of older people's lives, including employment. It highlights the poverty and financial insecurity that can result from older workers being shut out of the labour market. Overall, the number of pensioners living in poverty has increased steadily since 2012, from 13% to 18%, and those aged 60-64 have the highest rates of poverty among adults of any age. There are almost 11 million workers aged 50 and over in the UK - a third of all workers and four million more than 20 years ago - but progress on increasing employment rates for 50-64 year olds has slowed since the pandemic, partly because of an increase in the number of economically inactive as a result of long-term sickness. There is again a regional divide, with employment rates for older people in the North East much lower than for those in the South East - 68% of people, compared with 74.5%.
Without action, the Centre for Ageing Better believes that these inequalities will grow, severely impacting the country’s ability to level up the older population. The report makes a number of recommendations, including calling for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing to ensure that policymakers plan for an ageing population and consider the needs of the poorest and most disadvantaged older people. Without focused action to tackle inequality and resulting poor health and poverty, the talent, expertise and experience of older people will be lost - to workplaces, to communities and to the economy.
