Times Are Changing

In 2014, a British newspaper reported that elderly residents of the Sunrise Senior Living Centre were addicted to console games. Apparently, the craze started when one of the chefs brought in a console that belonged to his son. Residents aged between 80 and 103 enjoyed playing the games so much that they demanded that staff buy one immediately.

However, good news stories related to the care of the elderly are rare. Britain does not have a good record when it comes to caring for its elderly citizens. While in many other countries, older people often live with their children, this is much less common in the UK. Over 3.5 million older people in Britain live alone, and many do not even have regular visitors. About 500,000 people over 65 live in care homes run privately or by the state, where many suffer from boredom, depression and even physical mistreatment. Like most developed nations, the UK has an ageing population. This is partly because families are having fewer children, and partly because people are living longer. For the first time in our history, there are more people in the UK aged over 60 than 16.

Of course, any increase in life expectancy is good news, but there are financial consequences. In the early 1900s when pensions were first introduced, people at work outnumbered pensioners by 22 to one. It was easier for government to pay for pensions out of taxation. However, by 2024, there will only be three people of working age for every pensioner. Inevitably, the working population will need to pay more tax to meet the pension’s bill. The nation’s healthcare costs are also increasing as the population grows older.

Finding better ways of caring for an ageing population is gradually becoming a priority. In the future, both the government and families will have to do more.