ROS ALTMANN: WE’RE HEADING FOR A CARE CRISIS TO OUTSTRIP THE PENSIONS CRISIS.

ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL, SAGA

SAGA RESPITE FOR CARERS TRUST

PRESS RELEASE

November 8, 2010.

ROS ALTMANN: WE’RE HEADING FOR A CARE CRISIS TO OUTSTRIP THE PENSIONS CRISIS.

Ros Altmann, who warned the last government of an impending pensions crisis, says that care could escalate to become a bigger financial crisis than pensions unless the current government gets an iron grip on care funding.

Dr Altmann, Director General of Saga, and a director of the Saga Respite for Carers Trust, warned: “The care issue is a time bomb. We can hear it ticking, and there is a clear strand of inevitability: it is not going to go away, it is going to get bigger – every statistic says that.

“There seems to be a great deal going on relating to care, but nothing actually happening. Every care- and age-related charity or support group and now the media itself – in the form of the BBC, no less – is acutely aware and extremely active in highlighting the current plight and future dangers associated with a growing elderly population,” said Ros Altmann.

“The people most affected, and their carers, are literally running out of time. There needs to be a decisive change in how care is provided and paid for. There is a complete lack of joined-up thinking between NHS and local government-provided care, with the problem being passed from one authority to another.

“The government’s political horizon is a great deal closer than the care horizon. Those in government allegedly tackling the care issue should be starting to think like statesmen rather than politicians, and look beyond that political horizon.

“Saga is in a unique position of being expert in both financial- and care-related issues. We can see this problem looming; other care and age issue experts can see it, but I fear the government can’t see it. Because it’s not visible or relevant to the majority of people, there seems to be no sense of urgency.

“We saw precisely that with the pensions crisis and the lending crisis; things were allowed to escalate unchecked, and cost billions of pounds to sort out when a much smaller investment at the outset would have prevented what became a massive problem.

“But we must not lose sight of the victims of the care shortfall. That around 80% of local authorities surveyed by the BBC say they are changing how much they spend on care is not just provoking uncertainty amongst the elderly and their carers, but potentially a postcode lottery too. What if, for example, of two neighbouring local authorities one declares it is cutting care spending and the other increasing it? There’s potentially a cross-boundary stampede which will make a complex situation even more complicated.

“The impact could be vast – it must be sorted out, and the next financial time bomb defused before it’s too late for the elderly and infirm, their carers – and the British economy.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

November 1, 2010.

LOCAL AUTHORITY HOME CARE CUT FEARS: COMMENT FROM ROS ALTMANN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, SAGA.

Councils in England and Wales could be forced to end home help for elderly and disabled people, the Local Government Association has said.

The LGA, which represents 422 authorities, has told MPs that budget cuts may result in services being restricted to only those with critical needs.

Ros Altmann, Director General of Saga, said: “This warrants an immediate and categorical response from the government. There is nothing worse than uncertainty, and thousands of elderly people and their families, have, in an instant, suddenly been told by representatives of frontline care providers – the LGA - that the system will not be able to cope, and that in some parts of the country home help will simply stop.

“But that uncertainty has been compounded: the government is saying the opposite – that there will be more money available for social care.

“There needs to be absolute clarification, and that clarification needs to be delivered – alongside assurances to the elderly and their families – that they will not be deserted.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE: COMMENT FROM ROS ALTMANN, SAGA.

ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL


SAGA


PRESS RELEASE


October 27, 2010.

DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE: COMMENT FROM ROS ALTMANN, SAGA.

Ros Altmann, Director General of Saga, the lifestyle organisation for over-50s, says the newly Dementia Action Alliance - charities, royal colleges, public and private companies pledging to transform the quality of life for people living with dementia – is a massive boost to the dementia consequence awareness cause.


Dr Altmann says that dementia issues are finally taking up their place on the social care agenda, and the momentum a potentially big-hitting alliance can provide is key.


“Dementia care, and, more importantly, dementia consequence awareness, is finally establishing traction. It may already seem to be a cause making progress, but for far too long it has been a cause hobbled by ignorance. Now is not the time to sit back and consider the job to have been well done, the fact is that we are a long, long way off establishing a full appreciation of just how debilitating the condition is, not just to people with dementia but for their carers, and, as life expectancy increases, the UK’s economy,” said Ros Altmann.


“Any initiative that has the potential to drive dementia consequence awareness, and hence force the government’s hand on dementia care, is a massively welcome addition to the movement to gain social justice for all those affected.

“The Dementia Action Alliance has the full support of Saga, and we will bring to bear whatever influence and support we can muster. It is a tremendous initiative.”


Ends


Further information:


Iain Macauley


im@pressrelations.co.uk


07788 978800


www.saga.co.uk

PENSIONS EXPERT ROS ALTMANN, SAGA: REFORM COULD FINALLY START TO ADDRESS OUR PENSIONS CRISIS

ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

October 25, 2010.

PENSIONS EXPERT ROS ALTMANN, SAGA: REFORM COULD FINALLY START TO ADDRESS OUR PENSIONS CRISIS.

Ros Altman, Director General of Saga, says the government is finally getting to grips with the inadequacies of the UK state pension system – and a “pensions revolution” may well be on the cards.

Before the General Election, Saga conducted a nationwide poll of the over-50s and drew up a list of the top six policy changes that older citizens want.  This Saga Manifesto called for “a flat-rate state pension for all citizens without means testing”. 

“It could be that we are one step closer to achieving that now,” said Ros Altmann..

“After years of watching our pension system falling apart, it seems that the new Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, may finally be getting to grips with the inadequacies of the UK state pension.  If today's reports are accurate, and they do seem mightily well-informed, a pension revolution is about to occur.

“For years, Government has tinkered with our current inadequate state pension system, adding to its complexity, while failing to address the fundamental problems associated with mass means-testing of pensioners.

“As the OECD recently pointed out, the UK has just about the lowest state pension in the developed world - and it is by far the most complex.  Most people have no idea what state pension they will be entitled to.

“This is because anyone retiring can receive many different elements of State Pension.  There is a Basic State Pension, a Second State Pension, plus some State Earnings Related Pension - or SERPS - plus the Graduated Pension.  All of these have different qualification criteria and come from contributions made in different years.  And if all these are not enough, nearly half of pensioners can claim a complex, means-tested Pension Credit, which consists of a Guarantee Credit and a Savings Credit.  What a mess.

“Before 1997, Gordon Brown told the Labour Party Conference that he wanted to end the means test for the elderly, but he actually increased means-testing dramatically.  While advising the Labour Government from 2000 - 2005, I kept highlighting the complexities of our pension system, also warning of the dangers and disincentives entailed in mass means testing.  I advised introducing a universal flat-rate pension.  But this was ignored.  In 2005, the Turner Commission again failed to grasp the opportunity for such radical reform.  So many missed opportunities.

“The fundamental problem is that our State Pension system undermines private pension saving.  If around half of pensioners end up entitled to means-tested benefits, their private pensions will be penalised and some may see their whole private pension effectively taken away.

“As we are about to launch a national system of auto-enrolment, and a new national pension scheme (called NEST) specifically targeted at low to moderate earners, we would be at risk of putting these workers into a pension which would ultimately be partly or totally removed from them by the means-test.  It is particularly those low to moderate earners who are most likely to lose out and they will be unable to save enough to float themselves off means-testing.  Therefore, in order to alleviate some of the problems of auto-enrolment and the official NEST pension system, it is really important that the Government sorts this out.

“The increase in State Pension Age, announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review, was supposed to be 'fair' because it was in exchange for a decent state pension.  However, the current proposals for slowly raising the Basic State Pension each year would not be sufficient to really pay a decent pension, whereas radically reforming the system, as suggested in today's papers, would be a far better deal, especially for women.

“If there was a flat-rate state pension, the Government would be able to end the current practice of allowing people to 'contract out' of the state second pension.  This could bring in an extra £8billion in National Insurance contributions each year - £5billion of which would come from public sector workers and employers.  This extra revenue would also save money in the longer term, because public sector pension schemes would not have to pay the replacement State Second Pension from scheme pension age, it would just be paid from state pension age.

“This could be the best news for pensions in years.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk