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Fact & Fiction
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Population In 1999, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over was 16 percent. This figure is almost the same as the average for the EU. Life expectancy for adults did not start improving until the twentieth century. On average life expectancy for women is 5 years more than for men. The area with the highest number of people of pension age is Conwy in Wales, where more than one in four are over state pension age. The area with the lowest proportion is Northern Ireland. In general, ethnic minority groups have a younger structure than the white population, reflecting past immigration and fertility patterns, for example 16% of white people are over 65 while only 4% of people from Pakistan and Bangladesh are. Progressive ageing of the ethnic minority population is anticipated in the future, but changes will depend on fertility levels, mortality rates and patterns of migration. Income In 1998/99, pensioners, numbering 9.6 m, formed nearly 17% of the population. Over half, 56%, lived as couples and the remainder were single. In 1997/8, around 7% of pensioners were receiving their pensions overseas. Just before the Second World War 15% of the workforce were members of an occupational pension scheme but during the 1950's and 1960's the number of people with these schemes grew rapidly. Since the 1960s around half of employees have been members of a scheme. The largest source of income for pensioner households is social security benefits, which include the state retirement pension. Among pensioner couples under the age of 75, earnings continue to be a significant source of income, and couple pensioners are also more likely than single pensioners to have occupational pensions. Incomes tend to be higher for younger pensioners than for older pensioners, for both single people and couples. Differences in income by age can be caused in different ways. First, older pensioners work less due to their age. Also younger pensioners are more likely to have benefited from the rapid rise in occupational pensions in the 1950s and 60s. Leisure A half of all people aged between 65 and 74 and nearly three-quarters of those aged 75 do not get any exercise. Older people watch more television than younger people with those aged 65 and over spending twice as much time watching television as those aged 4 to 15. 17% of programs watched by those aged 65 and over were news programs. Health and Care In 1998, there was a total of 288,000 places in residential care homes for older people in England, Wales and N Ireland. Around three fifths were provided by the private sector. The number of places in local authority homes has fallen over recent years and by 1998 provided about a fifth of all places. The number of places in voluntary homes has been steadily increasing over the last 10 years, from 27,000 in 1998 to 38,000 in 1998. Home care is the most commonly provided support service. In 1997, 2.3 % where the oldest client was aged 75 to 84 received home care and 0.2% of those, aged 85 and over, received home care. In 1998/99, 5% of older people living in private households could not cook a main meal. Only 25% of these got the help they needed from the local authority home help service. And only one in 12 received meals on wheels. The total amount of hospital and community health services expenditure on the elderly in England was £9,927m in 98/99, two fifths of total expenditure. Almost three-fifths of this was spent on acute care. Expenditure on the 65 plus age group was £1,300 per head of population, the highest of any age group. 50% of men and 60% of women aged 75 and over experience mobility problems. Housing About 6 in 10 retired people own their home outright. One in 25 rent privately. Society Nearly 1 in 3 women aged 60 and over feel "very unsafe" walking alone after dark. In 1999, 1139 men and 514 women aged 75 and over got married. In 1998, 9179 people aged 60 and over got divorced, 3.16% of the total. (*) Figures are taken from the National Statistics, the official UK statistics site. |
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