Building a Society for all Ages
- is a publication presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Works & pensions in July 2009
- sets out steps to meet the challenges and opportunities of our ageing society
- invites responses on how Govt. can implement its proposals & what more can be done to reach its vision of a society for all ages
- Closing date for responses is Monday 12th October 2009.
This Briefing is in 4 sections.
Section 1:outlines the key issues highlighted within the publication
Section 2:lists the consultation questions
Section 3: contains a series of facts relevant to the debate and contained within the publications
Section 4: reproduces Govt’s Race Equality impact assessment of the proposals set out in the strategy.
Section 1: Building a Society for all Ages
The Context
- Over 1.3 million people above State Pension age are now in work.
- Employment rates for 50-69 year olds in first quarter of 2009 was 56%
- People are now living more later years in good health
- Life expectancy at 65 is continuing to increase
The Challenge Ahead
- People in the UK are living longer. The number of centenarians is expected to increase from 10,000 to 250,000 by 2050.
- In 2007 for the first time the number of people in the UK over State Pension age was greater than the number of children aged 16 and under
- The current Equality Bill will outlaw age discrimination and the Care & Support Green Paper to be published shortly will address care needs of an ageing population
Having the later Life you want
This section outlines some Govt. initiatives including
- new interactive ‘one stop shop’ for helping people plan ahead at mod life stage on their financial affairs and health concerns
- Active at 60 package from 2010 to provide people approaching 60 with information about their entitlements and opportunities
- All-in one card – to increase access to local activities
Older People at the heart of families
Govt. plans to publish a Families and Relationships Green Paper in Autumn on improving support to families
Engaging with Work and the Economy
- Govt plans to bring forward Review of the Default Retirement Age to 2010
- Age Positive initiative will continue to raise awareness of training opportunities and help to improve employer attitude to older workers
- An Innovation & Growth Team to help businesses identify and promote age inclusive design and services
Improving financial Support
Govt’s reforms to state pensions & private pension systems and measure to help people saving and planning for their retirement
Better Public Services for Later Life
- Introduction of a new health prevention package to focus on preventative services
- Govt.’s Care and Support Green Paper which will set out new vision for the future of social acre and support and how services will change to deliver Govt.’s vision
- a Good Place to Grow older programme to promote importance of ageing issues at local levels and provide funding to test new and innovative approaches to delivering services for older people
- new UK Advisory Forum on Ageing to advice ministers on improving well being and independence in later life
Building Communities for all Ages
- breaking down barriers and challenge negative stereotypes through the £5million Generations Together Programme & funding 12 intergenerational projects across UK
- driving for life programme for people to make most of public transport network
Tackling Pension Poverty
- Increase ISA limits to £10,200 per year from October for people aged 50 and over, of which £5,100 can be saved in cash
- Provide an additional payment alongside 2009/2010’s Winter fuel Payment worth £100 to households with someone aged over 80 and £50 to households with someone aged over 60
For copy of publication contact:
Tel: 0207 449 7203
email: allages@hmg.gov.uk
online: www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingsocietyforallages
Section 2: Building a Society for all Ages
Your responses are invited to the following Consultation Questions
Q1. We are launching a new ‘one stop shop’ to bring together services for people planning ahead. In additional to the core services suggested, what else would you like to see included?
Q2. At what stages in your life would it be/ have been most useful to receive information about your opportunities and entitlements?
Q3. How would you like to receive information about these opportunities and entitlements; and who would you like to receive this form?
Q4. What additional issues should we be seeking views on beyond those we have already highlighted for the grandparents summit?
Q5. What support have you found helpful when you have been in a caring role for family members?
Q6. What more can we do to enable business to understand the benefits of recruiting and retaining employees aged over 50, and to develop workable strategies for benefiting from an ageing workforce?