YES – BRING BACK CHEQUE GUARANTEE CARDS, SAYS SAGA.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA.

@SagaRosAltmann

QUOTES.

November 16, 2011.

YES – BRING BACK CHEQUE GUARANTEE CARDS, SAYS SAGA.

Commenting on news that the Payments Council is reviewing the possible reintroduction of the cheque guarantee card, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, welcomed the move, saying:

“This would be a fantastic development for several groups of people. Older people do like to use cheques rather than credit or debit cards – many over-50s have lived with cheques for virtually their entire lives, and don’t quite trust electronic methods of moving of money, but, equally, don’t like carrying cash around.  Small businesses or tradesmen also often rely on cheques for payment and would sometimes struggle without the security of a guarantee card.

“Of course, the decision earlier this year to keep cheques as a means of payment was great news, Saga had been calling for this for a long time, but it was never quite as great as it could have been, Without a cheque guarantee card the vast majority of businesses were reluctant – or even refused point blank – to accept cheques as a means of payment.

“Younger generations are far more comfortable with change and innovation – and view electronic movement of money as convenient – but older generations haven’t quite accepted, and often simply don’t understand or have the means to move money in a digital world.

“I sometimes wonder if older people choose not to spend at all rather than use processes they don’t like or understand, so, in a small way, providing them with a way of spending may have positive effects on the economy too.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

LANDMARK REPORT REVEALS GRIM REALITIES OF LIFE FOR BRITAIN’S OVER 50s

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

SAGA QUARTERLY REPORT

PRESS RELEASE

February 15, 2011.

LANDMARK REPORT REVEALS GRIM REALITIES OF LIFE FOR BRITAIN’S OVER 50s

Deep concerns about cost of living, income and unemployment hit quality of life

Policymakers warned as pre-retirees and lowest socio-economic groups suffer most
Video interviews with Dr Ros Altmann. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2uaU2Qyjk4

The Saga Quarterly Report, a comprehensive analysis of the lives of Britain's 21 million over 50s, has uncovered a bleak picture.  The Report, published today, is the first authoritative study to combine serious economic analysis with evidence on well-being, happiness, worries and living standards of over 50s.  It makes grim reading. 

The quality of life for the over 50s is worsening as they are suffering falling income, rising inflation and higher unemployment.  They report being increasingly worried about the cost of living and are cutting back on life's pleasures, such as eating out and holidays.  Hardest hit are 50-59 year olds, and the lower socioeconomic groups across all over 50 age bands are suffering disproportionately. 

"People sometimes paint the older generation as ‘the lucky ones’ with fewer problems than others. The evidence does not support this view", says Dr. Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga, the over 50s group.

"Some are fine, but the majority are currently struggling and the worst affected are just short of retirement.  Their pensions will not deliver the income they were expecting, their savings income has evaporated and more are losing their jobs.  Once out of work, they find it hard to get back in.  In short, their lives may never recover, but their plight has so far been ignored by policymakers."

The Saga Quarterly Report is the first to combine hard economic data with survey evidence on well-being.  This echoes the Government's upcoming initiative to measure national well-being, due to start in April 2011.

Saga commissioned respected independent economists at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) to analyse official economic data for the over 50s, showing trends in their income, unemployment and cost of living.  Saga also commissioned Populus to conduct a nationwide survey, asking more than 10,000 over 50s about developments in their happiness, health, standard of living and leisure spending as well as reporting their increasing worries. Cebr analysed these Survey results to compile the Saga Quality of Life Index (QOLI) for the over 50s, which is an innovative indicator of well-being for this important group.  Combined with the economic data, the Saga Quarterly Report provides a comprehensive picture of life for Britain's over 50s.  It will be updated every three months.

"The Government itself wants to move beyond just looking at economic factors when assessing the nation's progress.  Saga agrees and has taken the initiative to do this for the over 50s," stated Ros Altmann.

Key findings of the Saga Quarterly Report

• Over-50s quality of life has worsened over the past year
• 50-59 year olds and the lowest socio-economic groups across all over 50 age bands are having the toughest time
• Inflation is higher for 50-64 year-olds than for the rest of the population
• Unemployment for the over 50s is 69 per cent higher than it was pre-recession, compared with a 55 per cent rise across all age groups
• Long term unemployment has hit the over-50s hardest, with 43 per cent on the dole for more than a year (compared to 27 per cent of 18-24 year-olds)
• Rising cost of living is biggest worry for over-50s (63% more concerned than a year ago)
• Falling income from savings worries over half (54%) of over 50s
• Nearly half the over-50s have cut down on eating out to save money.

Charles Davis, Cebr economist said: “This report should prove a highly important piece of regular quarterly research.  As the UK’s population of people over 50 continues to grow it is imperative that their concerns and challenges are tracked and understood.

Ros Altmann added, "As the Pensions Bill has its second reading in Parliament, policymakers need to recognise these realities.  The unemployment findings are particularly worrying.  If the over 50s are increasingly locked out of the labour market, measures to increase the state pension age too rapidly could do more harm than good.”

“There are 21 million over-50s in Britain, and if they’re cutting back on spending it could have massive implications for the economy.”

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1.  The Saga Quarterly Report combines hard factual statistical data from official sources (such as Office for National Statistics and Family Expenditure Survey) with Saga’s own exclusive nationwide Populus Survey of more than 10,000 people aged over 50.

In identifying some of the key drivers that impact the daily lives of this age group and by tracking the quality of their lives, Saga hopes the Quarterly Report and its Quality of Life and Price Indices will improve the understanding of the lives of the over 50s, challenge the way society perceives age and ensure that the concerns and interests of the over 50s are on the agendas of politicians, decision-makers and the media.

2.  Each report will include The Saga Quality of Life Index which measures perceptions of happiness, standards of living and health and has been modelled by Cebr from Saga Populus Survey data to form an Index which can be tracked over time.

Saga Quality of Life Index - January, 2011

3.  The Report also includes the Saga Price Indices, which are bespoke measures of price inflation for the over 50s, showing how inflation is affecting the cohorts age 50-64, 65-74 and the over 75.  These indices have been compiled for Saga by the Cebr, using statistical data from the Family Expenditure Survey to re-weight the official basket of the consumer prices index to represent the spending patterns of each age group. 

4.  David Cameron announced last November that he wanted a better measure of how the country is doing than gross domestic product (GDP) or other economic indicators.  He said ''it is high time we admitted that taken on its own, GDP is an incomplete way of measuring a country's progress''.  He said it should be replaced by charting national well-being, adding that 'the country would be better off if we thought about well-being as well as economic growth''.  A new measure of national well-being ''could give us a general picture of whether life is improving' and eventually 'lead to government policy that is more focused not just on the bottom line but on all those things that make life worthwhile.''  From April 2011, the Office for National Statistics will start the ''National Well-being Project'' which will ask people to rate various measures of their own well-being and result in the first official 'happiness index' in 2012.  David Cameron, as well as other world leaders considering similar moves, are responding to calls by economists such as Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, who argued that countries should include more subjective indicators in measures of prosperity, and should move away from the standard economic measures.  Saga decided the over 50s could not afford to wait any longer, as the policy debate should be informed about their well-being now.  Our report shows that we were right.

5.  Saga has a number of case studies of people in their fifties who have been badly hit by rising cost of living, and/or falling savings income and/or long-term unemployment and are willing to explain how they feel left out by Government policy and hard hit by the economic backdrop.

The Saga Quality of Life Index

The Saga Quality of Life Index is comprised of three equally weighted sub-indices:

1. The Standard of Living Index – which is based on answers to the survey question: “Over the past year, how has your standard of living changed?”
2. The Happiness Index - which is based on answers to the survey question: “All things considered, since last year would you say you are much more/more/about as/less/ much less happy?”
3.  The Health Index - which is based on answers to the survey question: “Compared to this time last year, how is your health?”

Answers to the questions (which are multiple choice) are scored according to the following conventions:

A weighted average of the survey responses, based on these scores, yields each of the sub indices. A score of 100 would imply that every survey respondent has indicated much improved outcome for the sub index. A score of -100 would imply all respondents indicating a much worse outcome.

The Saga Quality of Life Index is the (equally weighted) average of the Standard of Living, Happiness and Health sub-indices. It too is limited to the range -100 to 100. A score of 100 would imply that every survey respondent has indicated much improved standard of living, happiness and health compared with 12 months ago. A score of -100 would indicate much worse outcomes, for each of these indicators, for each survey respondent.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

SCOTLAND TOP AND ENGLISH REGIONS BOTTOM FOR WINTER COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

December 21, 2010.

SCOTLAND TOP AND ENGLISH REGIONS BOTTOM FOR WINTER COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

Elderly people living in Scotland are more than twice as likely to be offered bad weather help by neighbours than the UK average.

An independent survey of 11,760 people conducted by Populus for Saga, the lifestyle, financial services and travel organisation for over-50s, found that 22% were offered help during the December ice and snows by neighbours - compared to the nationwide average of 10%.

But only 4% of older people in the West Midlands said they’d been offered help, with the North West and East Anglia faring little better at 5%. London and the South West were on 7%, Wales 8%, Northern Ireland 9%, the South East 11%, the East Midlands 12%, the North East 14%, Yorkshire and Humber 16%.

The news comes as Saga launches its search for the best good neighbours in winter-battered Britain.

The survey also found that a quarter of over-75 respondents received help during the recent snowy and icy weather from their family (24%) and/or neighbours (25%). Community spirit was greatest in Scotland where 22% of all respondents (compared to 10% nationally) were helped by their neighbours. Only 1% of Saga panellists needed help - but didn’t receive any. Four out of five (80%) respondents weren’t offered help but felt that they really didn’t need any.

Icy pavements which prevent people from going out were the biggest problem for survey respondents (35%) when it is very snowy and icy; this is particularly true for the older respondent. The greatest concern for almost one in five Saga panellists (19%) is just keeping warm, given how high the heating bills are. Nevertheless, for those respondents who have not yet retired, the biggest problem is getting to work (47%).

Saga is launching a “Good Neighbour Roll of Honour” to demonstrate the positive effects the bad weather can have and how it is truly becoming a word for today as neighbours pull together in times of hardship.

“You don’t have to dive into a freezing river or try and stop a sliding vehicle to be considered a hero by your older neighbours”, said Emma Soames, Editor-at-Large of Saga Magazine.

“Saga wants to celebrate the good neighbours who are truly making a difference to the lives of older people this winter.

“It doesn’t take much; just offering to go out for groceries or providing a lift to get to appointments or a helping hand so they can go on with their normal lives is so important at this time of year and can make a massive difference to physical and mental wellbeing – for both the helped and the helper.

“We are asking people who are benefiting from the kindness of a good neighbour to let Saga know who they are and we will add their names to our Good Neighbours roll of honour which will be published on the Saga website.

“We only need to know their name - or indeed just their first or nickname and the town or location you and they live in. And then we'd like a short sentence on how they are making a difference in your area while the weather is making life tricky for us all.”

Nominations can be emailed to goodneighbour@saga.co.uk, or posted to: Press Team, Saga Building, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent CT20 3SE

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

SAGA GENERATION STUDY: OVER 50S: TONED, TANNED AND TINTED.

EMMA SOAMES

SAGA MAGAZINE

PRESS RELEASE

September 16, 2010.

OVER 50S:  TONED, TANNED AND TINTED.

• · Saga Generation making most of cosmetic treatments to maintain their looks
• Plastic surgery doubles in popularity
• Fake tans and teeth whitening becoming more prevalent
• Over half feel the same or better about their appearance than 10 years ago 

Men and women over 50 are taking full advantage of cosmetic treatments to keep them looking young and beautiful according to a new study by Saga.

The survey of more than 10,000 people looked at changing attitudes towards personal appearance over a generation and revealed that spending on treatments such as hair tinting, fake tanning, teeth whitening, cosmetic surgery and other beauty treatments is soaring as they grab with both hands the opportunity of ‘staying sexy’.

The report discovered that people over fifty are more appearance conscious than ever, with two thirds (62%) believing they are   more likely to be judged on their appearance than previous generations.  One woman in seven (15%) said they wore padded bras.  Five times more women today would use such breast enhancers than their mothers at the same age. Cosmetic surgery has almost doubled in a generation, although fewer than one in fifty women have taken this route.  Almost two thirds of women colour their hair to disguise the grey (compared to 4% of men).  This compares to one third of women a generation ago (2% of men).

In addition to this, compared with a generation ago, today’s over 50s are:

·         Twelve times more likely to exercise to ‘tone up’

·         Ten times more likely to use ‘fake tan’ tanning lotion or sun beds than they were a generation ago

·         Seven times more likely to have had their teeth whitened

·         Fourteen times more likely to use anti-wrinkle cream (men) with 10% now using  age defying serum

Emma Soames, editor-at-large, Saga Magazine said: “Today’s over 50s are a generation that has successfully re-defined attitudes to age and ageing finding itself confronting the ‘politics of beauty’ at ever-later ages in life.  Perhaps ‘age positive’ images of the likes of Helen Mirren simply create a new ‘beauty myth’ for older people (especially older women) to have to contend with.  However they are clearly taking matters into their own hands and using every method possible to remain as young looking as possible.” she said.

The survey reveals a generation who are more fashion conscious than their parents at the same age  – completely updating their personal look regularly. Women over fifty update their appearance every four and a half years.  However, men are much less concerned about ‘keeping up with the times’, updating their appearance only every 19 years.

Men and women in the North East are the most fashion conscious, typically updating their style and personal appearance every six years on average.  But it is over-fifties in Northern Ireland who are most self-confident about their style, with almost three quarters (71%) saying they are happy with their ‘look’, and with the average length of time between ‘style make-overs’ being eight years.

How do over 50s feel about themselves?

Today’s over 50s are comfortable in their own skin.  Over half (54%) say they feel the same or better about their appearance than they did 10 years ago.  The study also shows that satisfaction with appearance becomes significantly less important to overall happiness for people as they move through their sixties and seventies.

The increased opportunity for people to fight the signs of aging has fuelled a spectacular rise in over-fifties’ spending on their appearance in the last 10 years:

§         Share of total cosmetics spending rises from £1.9bn to £2.1bn

§         Spending on beauty treatments and hairdressing rises from £2bn to £2.2bn

§         Spending on clothing and shoes also rose sharply (35%) from £4.7bn to £12.2bn

Emma Soames added: “Today’s over-fifties are embracing the opportunities available to them to keep looking as young as they feel.  It is however also heartening that as we move into our sixties and seventies, our looks become ever less important to the quality of our personal relationships and our overall happiness.”

-       Ends –

Ends

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

Emma Soames, editor-at-large, was editor of Saga Magazine from 2002-2008. Previously she edited the Telegraph Magazine for seven years and before that was editor of ES Magazine, Tatler and the Literary Review. Emma is also an occasional columnist for The Daily Telegraph.

Notes to editors:

Regional table - regions who are happy with their ‘look’, and average frequency of ‘updating’ appearance, by region

	London	South East	South West	West Midlands	East Midlands	North West	North East	Yorkshire & Humber	East Anglia	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
Average number of years between makeovers	7.3	6.6	7.2	5.8	7.6	6.5	6.1	7.8	8.2	8.5	6.9	8.2
% who are happy with their 'look' (appearance when fully clothed)	61%	63%	63%	63%	62%	66%	65%	67%	65%	65%	61%	71%

Methodology

Data was collected using Saga’s Populus panel, which delivered a total sample of 10,803 people aged 50+. Using quotas established by the Government Actuaries’ Department and the National Readership Survey, a nationally representative sample of over-50s was derived from the Populus panel, with an effective sample size of 3,483 (having taken design effects into account). This sample is nationally representative of UK over-50s by age, gender, social grade, and (broadly) by mobility (reported ease of walking one mile or more, and climbing stairs). Mobility measures were repeated and checked against evidence from the same questions asked in the BHPS (2007/8) – this revealed that the (weighted) Populus panel sample is not significantly different from the UK population in terms of mobility, allowing a derivation of a robust indication of the health activities and attitudes prevalent in the UK 50+ population. Unless otherwise sourced, all data presented in this report is based upon this derived nationally representative sample.

Alongside the main source of original survey data, analysis of the Family Expenditure Survey and the British Household Panel Study was used to provide broader perspective and an insight into trends in health and over the past generation.