UK failing older workers as pandemic worsens age inequality

The UK is “failing” to meet the challenges of an ageing population, and missing out on the opportunities of employing older workers, according to experts such as the International Longevity Centre and The Centre for Ageing.

Responding to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on the  Healthy Ageing report published today, David Sinclair, Director of the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC), stated: “It has been clear for decades that the UK is failing to meet the challenges of ageing whilst also missing out on the opportunities of an older population. It feels like groundhog day with yet another Parliamentary report highlighting our failure to respond to ageing.”

WAKING UP TO AGE INEQUALITY

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. As the Lords report highlights, the UK could lead the way. “We are global leaders in health and technology. Government must drive and better support innovations if we are to deliver a longevity dividend,” commented Sinclair. “Covid-19 has highlighted the inequalities in ageing. Too many of us are ageing badly.”

Ill health in old age is a growing problem, and the Government’s Ageing Society Grand Challenge is not on track to achieve its mission of five extra years of healthy living by 2035. Urgent action is needed to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities in old age – emphasised by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government’s aim to deliver five extra healthy years of life by 2035 “is laudable and exciting” he said. But it’s “completely unachievable without major policy change”, Sinclair pointed out. “We need a major focus on preventative health not just nice policy words. It’s time to wake up to ageing. Let’s hope when we wake up it isn’t to six more weeks of winter but instead to a concerted effort from Government to address the challenges raised by the committee.”

LONG TERM UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS FOR 50+

Apart from healthcare, another huge challenge created by Covid-19 is a long-term unemployment crisis among those aged over 50. According to the UK’s Centre for Ageing, the proportion of people over the age of 50 in employment has risen over the last 20 years. In fact, the employment rate among people aged 50-64 has risen from 60% to around 73% since the year 2000. One in three workers are now aged 50 or older.

But this progress masks the large number of people who are still falling out of work prematurely. Prior to the pandemic, there were nearly 800,000 people aged 50-64 who were out of work, but wanted a job. Older workers now face more barriers in getting work, such as ageism in recruitment, lack of flexibility, insufficient support for their health conditions and managing caring responsibilities.

PANDEMIC INEQUALITY IMPACT ON AGEING POPULATION

This recession could stall – or even reverse – the progress in employment among workers at older ages that has been ongoing for decades, notes Centre for Ageing. As a result, the UK risks millions of people struggling with long-term unemployment in the years before they are able to draw a pension, leading to a rise in pensioner poverty. 

In September 2020, there were over 600,000 people aged 50 or over claiming unemployment-related benefits; double the number in March 2020. Of people aged 50 or over, 2.7 million were furloughed (a quarter of everyone on the scheme); with an estimated 400,000 of those jobs at risk of disappearing, according to the Centre for Ageing

Once they fall out of work, older workers take the longest – and struggle the most – to return to work. Unemployed people over 50 years old are twice as likely to be out of work for 12 months or more than younger workers; (almost 50% more likely than workers aged 25-49). Relying on mainstream back-to-work support for this group will not work. Additionally, just 21.6% of people over 50 gained a job on the government’s Work Programme, which ran from 2011 to 2017. However, “the worst result of any group”, pointed out the Centre for Ageing.

SUPPORT FOR OLDER WORKERS

The government needs to provide targeted, individualised employment support for this group. This should include opportunities for those with long careers in shut-down sectors to retrain. As well as better government initiatives, employers can also help, advises The Centre for Ageing. It recommends that companies also better value an age-diverse workforce; and ensure they offer flexible working arrangements and training to workers of all ages. 

Unless the government takes urgent action, both The Centre for Ageing and ILC’s Sinclair, believe that the UK is “on the path to a future of ageing badly”. Far from living up to the promise of longer lives, the gap between those who are able to enjoy later life and those who struggle through it will widen, with grave implications for society. Once upon a time, “to be old was to be poor” . Data from The Centre for Ageing suggests that without action, this could well become true again in the very near future. Pensioner poverty may well return if the UK doesn’t act fast.

Click here for more information and statistics from The Centre for Ageing.