Is 75 the new 65?

Published: 19 October 2011

Asks a report, published last week by IPPR with funding from City Bridge Trust.

It’s a fact of life we each grow older every day but we’re also growing older for much longer.  Whilst this no doubt brings bring many benefits, it also sets a number of challenges about how we meet the needs of older people and a growing ageing population.

The Trust’s Chief Grants Officer, Clare Thomas said “We asked IPPR to help us further our understanding of the complex and diverse needs of London’s fast growing older population and help us target our resources more effectively.”

The findings were shared at City Bridge Trust’s annual conference on 12th October at Guildhall where a number of speakers with wide expertise in services for older people, including Baroness Julia Neuberger and Julie Jones of the Social Care Institute for Excellence, debated the issues with a packed audience, chaired by Mary Riddell.

With the number of older people in London set to rise dramatically, the report highlights the urgent need to tackle social isolation amongst the oldest members of our society.  The predictions are startling.  The number of people in London aged over 65 is expected to rise by a third in the next 20 years and those aged over 90 by 95%.

The report found that nearly one-fifth of over 75’s “felt lonely much of the time during the past week” and whilst a quarter of 65 -74 year olds live alone, nearly half of over 75’s do so.

Director of IPPR, Nick Pearce said:  “Older Londoners are more likely to live alone, suffer from poverty and lack support from their families compared to older people in other parts of the country…..For too many people, growing older is a journey of loss – losing work, mobility and friendships.”

Despite the gloomy forecasts, we know from our grant-making there are plenty of creative and imaginative approaches to combating loneliness.  Praising the charity Magic Me for its Cocktail in Care Homes initiative, where volunteers make regular visits to care homes for a chat, a drink and maybe even a dance, Julia Neuberger called for the introduction of the cocktail hour in all residential care homes.  She also looked forward to the day, following the scrapping of the default retirement age, when we see the over 80’s being paid to provide care services.  But she had a particular challenge for City Bridge Trust in support of one of her favourite hobby horses – start a campaign for more public loos!

Julie Jones called for the scaling up of the numerous examples of voluntary sector initiatives supporting older people, such as Community Network’s pioneering telephone friendship circles, a form of telephone conferencing for housebound people.

“By targeting services specifically at those aged over 75, rather than those simply over retirement age, policymakers can reach those in need and slip through the gaps in service provision” said Clare Thomas.

Those completing evaluation forms following the conference were invited to enter a draw to win an iPod.  The winner was Vanda Carter, Intergenerational Development Officer at LB Camden.

A copy of the full report can be downloaded from IPPR's website.