HOME CARE CRISIS “AS BIG AS A CITY” ”: MORE SHAMEFUL AND SHOCKING EVIDENCE

DR ROS ALTMANN

@SagaRosAltmann

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

November 23, 2011.

HOME CARE CRISIS “AS BIG AS A CITY” ”: MORE SHAMEFUL AND SHOCKING EVIDENCE SHOWS REAL IMPACT OF CARE CUTS.

RADICAL REFORM IS LONG OVERDUE

The government is failing to act to head off a home care crisis “as big as a city” despite constant and overwhelming evidence from an avalanche of reports.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Care Quality Commission have highlighted again the poor standards of social care suffered by many older people – primarily caused by huge, and growing, shortfalls in local authority care budgets.

“Of course, there is wonderful care out there, but as councils keep cutting care budgets, standards can only get worse: hardly a week goes by without another damning report into the treatment of the elderly and vulnerable in this country. But so far, nothing has actually been done to address the reality of the day-to-day indignities many older people endure,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s organisation Saga.

“Today's report, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, says that 250,000 older people – the equivalent of the population of a city the size of Derby or Southampton - are receiving poor or very poor standards of home care including verbal and physical abuse, near-cursory 15-minute ‘task-ticking’ visits– there should be a statutory minimum way higher than that - and little or no help in eating and drinking.

“But as the EHRC points out, the figure may actually be higher because many more may well be too frightened to complain. What’s more, that’s just home care: one element of a social care system which is becoming deluged as we live longer lives.

“The government knows about these issues – how can they not, as they are continually presented with evidence of a care system in crisis? Predictable pre-packaged Ministerial responses expressing outrage and pledging action are not enough.

“Let me ask this: when was the last time we saw any decisive action – as opposed to talk?

“Of course, we welcome the CQC’s proposed home care inspection plans, as well as any move which will help improve the quality and consistency of care – and consequently the quality of life – for our older generations. But the CQC has stopped inspecting the local authority commissioners themselves. If we do not tackle the root cause of the problem - inadequate resources for care - how can we expect decent care?

“We need to properly fund our care system and revere it as much as we do the NHS. We need a consistent regulatory and monitoring system that promotes and encourages best practice, not inconsistent and unprepared knee-jerk responses.

“The question needs to be asked just who monitors the local authority commissioners? They are putting pressure on care providers to offer the lowest priced possible care - and it should be obvious that 15 minute visits make it impossible to deliver adequate care. How do we get health and homecare to work in tandem, and get people back in their own home where they want to be and where care is most cost effective?

“It is vital that we drive the retention of some excellent people who do a tremendous job - the vast silent majority who never get a mention in dispatches. We need to promote care as a career and a profession, and highlight the requirement for best practice, and applaud it where we see it.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

LEGAL TEAMS SCRAMBLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS HIGH COURT RULES COUNCIL CARE FEE FREEZES ARE UNLAWFUL.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

@SagaRosAltmann

QUOTES.

November 9, 2011.

LEGAL TEAMS SCRAMBLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS HIGH COURT RULES COUNCIL CARE FEE FREEZES ARE UNLAWFUL.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, commenting on the ruling today, November 9, 2011, in the High Court that Sefton Council’s decision to freeze fees for people needing care in the borough is unlawful:

“I expect many local authorities have been taken aback by this ruling, and quite a few legal and financial teams scrambled to assess what could be a massive impact upon the way councils fund care for older people, and how this ruling could reach far and wide.

“Once again the old and vulnerable are in the news as being on the receiving end of care and support shortfalls - but on this occasion their representatives have bitten back and bitten hard.

“Rather than rising to the challenge of funding the extra care needs of our ageing population, local authorities are continually cutting the care needs they will cover, leaving frail older people to fend for themselves - even freezing funding in the face of significant cost rises. This is an outrage and has rightly been declared illegal.

“In its ruling today that it is unlawful for local authorities to freeze care funding in this way purely to cut its own costs and without regard to the actual cost of providing care, the High Court has certainly put the cat among the pigeons. The flawed funding system of social care in England is being brutally exposed and the impact of local authority cuts and lack of long term funding is leaving increasing numbers of vulnerable older people without adequate care.

“The problem is one that has been highlighted so many times recently and stems from the fundamental fact that social care is the poor relation in our health system - and is not integrated with the NHS. Social care is largely run and funded by local authorities, whose budgets are being squeezed as never before, even while demand for care is rising inexorably year on year.

“But that leaves us with the underlying problem that local authorities do not have enough money to pay for proper care and, while resources are all focussed on the NHS, care is being neglected - and thus those needing care are also neglected.

“When will we wake up to the challenges and threats of such severe care underfunding?

“We need a radical overhaul of the whole system and the Dilnot review sets out a credible framework for action. This must include ringfencing public funding, better integration between NHS and social care, investment in prevention and early intervention, as well as an end to across-the-board care cutbacks by local authorities.

“Inadequate social care can be just as life-threatening as withholding medical care, especially for our increasing numbers of older people, yet somehow public money places all the emphasis on just one part of the picture.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

OLDER PEOPLE: WHERE IN THE UK ARE THE FITTEST, LEAST STRESSED … AND MOST SEXY …?

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

September 30, 2011.

OLDER PEOPLE: WHERE IN THE UK ARE THE FITTEST, LEAST STRESSED … AND MOST SEXY …?

Londoners aged over 50 are most likely to do little or no exercise, five times as many older people in Yorkshire and Humberside use exercise to improve their later-years sex life compared to neighbouring North East of England, and people from Scotland are amongst the most likely to follow the ideal exercise regime.

Those are just some of the findings of an independently-conducted study of 10,500 older people commissioned by over-50s group Saga in the run up to Older People’s Day, October 1, 2011, which has the theme of getting active and staying active.

The survey also found that older people from Northern Ireland were least likely to turn to exercise for stress relief (16%), while people from the North West of England were most likely (24%) to feel the need to wind down by getting the pulse racing.

Around 38% of Londoners say they do no exercise, or less than an hour a week, with a figure of 37% in the North East of England and a low 31% in Scotland.

44% of older people in Scotland and Yorkshire and Humberside do what is considered by experts to be the best balance of between two and five hours exercise a week, while in Northern Ireland 22% work up a sweat for between six and ten hours a week. But the Welsh are three times as enthusiastic as older people from London, East Anglia and Northern Ireland about putting in more than 16 hours a week.

Nearly half (49%) or older people in the West Midlands and North East say they do too little exercise.

Regional league table – over-50s doing none, or less than an hour of exercise per week:

London                             38%

North East                        37%

East Midlands           36%

West Midlands                    35%

Northern Ireland                34%

South East                        33%

South West                       33%

North West                       33%

East Anglia                        33%

Wales                               32%

Yorkshire and Humberside    31%

Scotland                           31%

Regional league table – over-50s doing two to five hours of exercise per week:

Yorkshire and Humberside    44%

Scotland                           44%

Wales                              43%

South East                        43%

North West                       42%

East Anglia                        42%

Northern Ireland                41%

South West                       41%

London                             41%

East Midlands           41%

North East                        36%

The national picture overall:

The research showed over-50s are chasing improved fitness levels in later life with the vast majority of older people citing health improvement or active-life extension as the main reason for pavement pounding and WiiFit workouts – and WiiFit has overtaken bowls as a way of staying in shape.

Across the UK, around 38% of 50-somethings flex their muscles for between two and five hours a week – a level fitness experts say is likely to be life-enhancing – but more people put in the hours the older they get: 44% of 65 to 69-year-olds exercise for up to five hours, with 62% doing between two and 10 hours exercise per week.

“That’s great news for the older people who do try to maintain or improve fitness: there’s a lot of newly converted ‘exercise enthusiasts’ coming through who are realising they’ve a great deal more to give and get once they hit their 60s – the bonus years -and are putting in the effort to exploit it,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga.

But fitness for older people is not all about tea dances and bowls: one in 25 over-50s and one in 50 aged 75 and over use Wii Fit as a way of keeping fit. More admit to using Wii Fit as a means of exercise than bowls, and is equivalent to those who jog.

Just a third of Saga panellists believe that they do the right level of exercise, with 45% admitting to doing too little. Just over 40% of 50 to 54-year-olds did no exercise or “less than an hour” a week compared to 30% of 60 to 69-year-olds.

80% of Saga panellists say they are more conscious of the need to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle now than they were in their 30s. A quarter of women say they exercise more now than in their 30s.

Meanwhile, nationally, five times as many over-50s men compared to women say they’ve embarked on their exercise regime to improve their sex life.

Over-50s  believe maintaining their mental fitness is important - 99% agree that it is ‘very important’ or ‘important’ - and crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and TV quiz games were the most popular forms of mental exercises (60%, 40% and 36% respectively doing each). One-in-ten use electronic brain-training games.

Populus interviewed 10,483 Saga customers, all aged 50+, online between 12 September and 15 September 2011. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information see www.populus.co.uk.

Full survey stats available on request.

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CII REPORT: PENSION “TREASURE TROVES” ARE NOWHERE NEAR BIG ENOUGH FOR LATER LIFE CARE, SAYS SAGA.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

September 14, 2011.

CII REPORT: PENSION “TREASURE TROVES” ARE NOWHERE NEAR BIG ENOUGH FOR LATER LIFE CARE, SAYS SAGA.

The glammed-up treasure trove of private pension pots could turn to dust for the majority of the population requiring care in later life.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, says that the findings of a report by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), entitled “Who cares?”, highlights that despite the recent Dilnot Commission, the public remains unaware of the real cost of long-term care and the need to make personal provision to meet costs.

“Around 80% of people have no idea of how much they will have to pay for care, and around half think long-term care is free at the point of use - but today’s average pension pot will fall well short of funding long-term care costs for the one in four of us who will need it,” said Dr Altmann, who has written a chapter of the report.

“According to the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support, the current average long-term care bill is £26,000 a year, the average length of stay in a care home is two years, but the current average pension income is often only £10,000 a year, leaving a huge annual deficit.

“The key is developing an awareness and national culture of saving for later life. While private pensions may have been sold as later-life treasure troves alongside images of Mediterranean villas or sumptuous retirement apartments, the fact is that we’re in the midst of a pensions crisis which will provide many people with a far more down-to-earth later life – but the impending care crisis will dwarf it by comparison.

“There is not enough money being put aside privately or publicly, and the vast majority of the population is hoping they won’t need care, when statistically at least one in four people will need it.

“The Dilnot report highlights how failure to adjust social care policy over time has left care under-funded across the board – at national, local and individual level. The welfare state was designed in the 1940s, when the idea of millions of people living to advanced old age was unheard of. Policy has failed to move with the times and is not fit for the 21st century.

“Past Governments have failed to help people prepare for care, even though at least one in four of us will require expensive care in later life. The current system of long-term care funding is haphazard, inefficient and unsustainable.

“Government spends over £100bn on benefits, over £50bn on the health service and just £8bn on care, leaving millions of vulnerable older people at risk. The issue is that people are now living so much longer than before, which is actually great news, but our support systems are being overwhelmed.

“This means most people’s whole life savings are at risk, but many do not realise this. Of course, unlike pensions, not everyone will need care, so insurance against future care costs is one obvious potential solution. However, potential care costs that need to be insured against are unlimited, so it is impossible to find affordable insurance to give full peace of mind, and it is difficult to devise policies that will provide real peace of mind.

“There are potential solutions that could be introduced, though: For example, Care ISAs, allocating an annual pension-style allowance to provide for care, incentivising employer care plans with proper tax relief, adapting annuity rules to allow pension funds to be used to buy ‘Care Pension Annuities’, with a lower starting income but which would then provide much larger sums in later life if care is needed.

“Equity Release is inevitable, since most people needing care will probably have to access some of the value of their property; Another potential savings product that would be facilitated by a cap on private care costs would be ‘Family Care Plans’. Four family members could club resources together and save in a joint-account to ensure, say, that one of them will have their care needs covered up to the cap.”

Ends
Further information:
Dr. Ros Altmann
Director-General, Saga
ros.altmann@saga.co.uk
www.saga.co.uk
07545 504513
Twitter @SagaRosAltmann
Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

MANY “RESENTFUL” UNDER-24S WOULDN’T HAVE WORK WITHOUT OLDER COLLEAGUES.

EMMA SOAMES

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

April 19, 2011.

MANY “RESENTFUL” UNDER-24S WOULDN’T HAVE WORK WITHOUT OLDER COLLEAGUES.

Commenting on research* by care provider Anchor that revealed more than 40% of 18-24s resented older people staying in work, Emma Soames, Editor-at-Large of Saga Magazine and over-50s champion, said:

“Young people perhaps underestimate the contribution of older people in the workplace. People notice fuss or flurries of activity around workplace decision-making, usually involving the less-experienced who will often ultimately ask an older person for advice anyway.

“But older people have the life and work experience to make business or work decisions more calmly, and consequently faster, simply because they’ve been there before.

“It’s therefore ironic that some of the most important workplace decisions, quietly and decisively made by older people at all levels, have and do create and maintain jobs for the younger generations.”

* Link to original story.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.saga.co.uk

SAGA PUBLISHES GUIDES TO WORKING LIFE AFTER THE DEFAULT RETIREMENT AGE (DRA) OFFICIALLY ENDS

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

April 11, 2011.

SAGA PUBLISHES GUIDES TO WORKING LIFE AFTER THE DEFAULT RETIREMENT AGE (DRA) OFFICIALLY ENDS – ONE FOR EMPLOYERS, ONE FOR EMPLOYEES.

Video

To download a copy of the Rethinking Retirement guide for Employees please click here.

To download a copy of the Rethinking Retirement guide for Employers please click here.

The now defunct default retirement age has for generations signalled a dead end for older people – but now the challenge is for employers and wannabe-longer-workers is tackling the new lease of life leant by the new rules.

One of the country’s biggest and most experienced over-50s lifestyle groups, Saga, has more appreciation than most about what faces both employees and employers, and has produced online guides aimed at helping both groups.

“It’s not just a moral responsibility to let people work as long as they want, it’s now also a legal responsibility – but both employers and employees may well find the first steps into the unknown to be a bit daunting – so we’ve teamed up with The Age and Employment Network and brought to bear our collective experience to do what we can to help make this an easier cultural transition,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga.

“The end of the default retirement age (DRA) has arrived – and from now on, employers can no longer sack workers just for being 65. At a time when people are living longer and the country faces unprecedented economic challenges, this is only the first step towards rethinking retirement. The UK must nurture a ‘personalised retirement’ culture if the country is to cater for its ageing population,” said Dr Ros Altmann.

“Many people want to work beyond retirement age, saying it keeps their mind alert and that they want to ensure continued income in later life.

“To make sure we do this to the benefit of UK workers, we need to alter our approach and mindset to retirement. This culture change means that the Government must encourage employers to make retirement a process, rather than an event.”

Saga has launched two guides outlining what employers and employees need to think about in this new workplace world.

The guides coincide with the end of the DRA, a move that Saga has warmly welcomed, knowing that many older workers would prefer to continue working than be forced to retire at an arbitrary age.

Dr Ros Altmann said: “We are delighted that the Government abolished the default retirement age. It should have been done years ago. We have been very concerned to see recent cases of employers outrageously forcing their workers in to retirement before the new regime sets in – this is a sheer disgrace.

“For both employers and employees wondering what opportunities and challenges will arise from now on, we hope our Saga Guides to Rethinking Retirement will prove very useful reading.

“We encourage any workers who have been forced to retire from their jobs to look at our guides and to consider their options. There are many alternatives for part time and flexible work open to people over 65 and we encourage people not to give up.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

OVER-50S ARE GRUMPY, UNFRIENDLY AND “PAST IT”? NOT SO, SAY THE WHIPPERSNAPPERS.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

April 10, 2011.

OVER-50S ARE GRUMPY, UNFRIENDLY AND “PAST IT”? NOT SO, SAY THE WHIPPERSNAPPERS.

Dr Ros Altmann video

Oldies’ perceptions that younger people pigeonhole them as grumpy, unfriendly and “past it” are misplaced, according to independent research commissioned by over-50s lifestyle group Saga.

The research compares the perceptions 18-24s have of over-50s with what older people believe younger people think.

“The overall message is that perhaps crossing the boundary to 50 is nowhere near as life-changing as myth, Grumpy Old Men and Victor Meldrew would have it,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga.

“Around 67% of over-50s believe 18-24s perceive them as ‘past it’, but the reality is that just 18% of 18-24s actually have that perception. And while only 11% of over-50s think younger people perceive them as friendly, the reality is that around 29% of 18-24s do actually think older people are indeed friendly.

“We’ve decided that all this is becoming such an issue we’re putting up a £10,000 reward for the video that best dispels the ’50-is-old’ myth.

“There are more myths to be shattered too: just 17% of over-50s think 18-24s consider them knowledgeable; however, the truth is that 42% of 18-24s perceive oldies as being great fonts of knowledge.

“Perhaps understandably, 18-24s are largely unenthusiastic about turning 50, with 39% of younger adults saying 50 seems old, but only 8% of over-50s agreeing once they reach and pass that milestone. 60% of over-50s consider 50 to be ‘just another birthday’, while only 16% of younger people dismiss it in the same way.”

The video competition is open to anybody over the age of 16 who lives or studies in the UK.  For example, you may be younger than 50:  As you think about the future, what do you hope life will be like when you turn 50?  What are you looking forward to?  You may be older than 50:  in a similar way, put yourself in the shoes of someone around 25 today, and think about their world when they will be 50.  

Video submissions: Full details on http://www.saga.co.uk/being50

The research was conducted by YouGov for Saga, sampling 1,148 UK adults on February 22 and 23, 2011.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

THE CHALLENGE: CHANGE PERCEPTIONS OF THE CLUB WITH 21 MILLION NOT-SO-GRUMPY NOR PAST-IT MEMBERS.

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

March 22, 2011.

THE CHALLENGE: CHANGE PERCEPTIONS OF THE CLUB WITH 21 MILLION NOT-SO-GRUMPY NOR PAST-IT MEMBERS.

Video – Dr Ros Altmann.

Over-50s group Saga has laid down a challenge to change the perception of over-50s in 120 seconds.

There are 21 million members of the over-50s club in the UK, and the aim is to create influential videos about life at 50, and beyond, to strengthen understanding between generations and change how people think.

And the most persuasive video – regardless of whether shot on a mobile phone or a broadcast standard camera - could win a budding video-maker £10,000.

The video challenge follows independent research commissioned by Saga, which shows that oldies believe younger people pigeonhole them as grumpy and past-it - even though younger people often have far more positive attitudes to older people.

Saga's research compares what 18-24s actually think of over-50s with what older people believe younger people think, and it is clear that there is much misperception.

“We're looking for two minute videos on the theme of what it means to be 50, and which dramatically challenge perceptions,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga. (Video: Dr Ros Alrmann)

“The overall messages through TV like Grumpy Old Men and Victor Meldrew do not accurately represent what younger people really think of being over 50.” said Dr Altmann. 

“67% of over-50s believe 18-24s perceive them as ‘past it’, but the reality is that only 18% of 18 -24s think that.

“Age groups do have very different views about reaching a 50th birthday and whether this makes you 'old'.

“39% of 18-24s say 50 seems old, but only 8% of over-50s agree.

60% of over-50s say 50 is ‘just another birthday’, compared to only 16% of younger people.”

The competition is open to anybody over the age of 16 who lives or studies in the UK.  For example, you may be younger than 50:  As you think about the future, what do you hope life will be like when you turn 50?  What are you looking forward to?  You may be older than 50:  in a similar way, put yourself in the shoes of someone around 25 today, and think about their world when they will be 50.  

Full details on http://www.saga.co.uk/being50

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.saga.co.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS -

Note 1. The research was conducted by YouGov for Saga, sampling 1,148 UK adults on February 22 and 23, 2011.

Note 2. Regardless of the age of respondents to the survey – whether 18 or 80 – 58% considered younger people think 50 is old.

Note 3. 29% of 18-24s consider the over 50's are friendly, but only 11% of older people think the younger ones feel that.

Note 4.  42% of 18-24s perceive oldies as being knowledgeable, but  just 17% of over-50s think younger people consider them to be fonts of knowledge.

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

NEW LEASES OF WORKING LIFE FOR NEW LIFESAVERS JOHN AND ALAN.

SAVOY VENTURES LTD.

NHS PATIENT TRANSPORT

PRESS RELEASE

December 20, 2010.

NEW LEASES OF WORKING LIFE FOR NEW LIFESAVERS JOHN AND ALAN. 

Video of John. Video of Alan.

It’s all about new leases of life, and one of the South East’s leading NHS patient transport service providers is making double the contribution of most by employing retired people – and turning them into lifesavers.

Savoy Ventures Limited provides patient transport services for several South London and Kent hospitals, but as well as bringing in younger people embarking on their careers, the firm is also recruiting more and more retired folk.

“In this day and age, 60 is a very early age to retire – so we’re making a point of seeking out older people to join our team of passenger transport and care assistants, but we’re also finding a great number of them are demonstrating skills and attitude that means we’re also turning our second-life recruits into ambulance technicians – true lifesavers with occasional emergency and blue-light duties,” said Elle Dadswell of Savoy Ventures.

“Older people have fantastic life skills, which they don’t just pass on to their colleagues, but which can make a massive difference to the way patients respond and react during what can be quite traumatic times when being transferred between hospitals, for instance.”

Two such members of the team are John Hunt, 63, from Canterbury, and his crew partner Alan Butt, 61, from Dartford.

John came out of retirement after spending most of his working life as a bookseller, video, while Alan was a railway engineer, video, and now are each fully-fledged ambulance technicians working with several south London hospitals.

Savoy Ventures Limited is a private company providing patient transport and transfer services to NHS Trusts in the South East of England. Established in 2006, Savoy makes more than 200,000 patient transfer journeys a year. Savoy Ventures Limited is engaged by a number of NHS Trusts to carry out blue-light transfers, specialist wheelchair, incubator, bariatric chair or stretcher transport, notes/X-ray transfer, and movement of tissue between hospitals. Many staff are trained and qualified to Ambulance Technician level.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.savoyventures.com