Research reveals that Baby Boomers are failing to prepare for old age
Home healthcare technology provider Birdie has commissioned independent research to investigate the attitudes and behaviours of those who will soon enter their ‘golden years’, with concerning findings.
The demographic split of the UK’s population is skewing increasingly older, with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) predicting that there will be almost 20 million people living in the country aged 65 years and over by 2028, an increase of 80 per cent from today’s 11 million.
This, it states, could naturally will alter the face of the UK’s care industry, placing more strain on the already stretched system, where 1.5 million people already don’t get the care they need.
Birdie’s research revealed that a quarter of those aged 59-77 (known as “Baby Boomers”) believe they will never need additional care support, which is more than any other generation (14% of Gen Z think they will never require additional care support, while 16 per cent of millennials think they won’t).
Approximately 20 per cent of Boomers stated they would not accept additional care in the event of chronic illness.
This is in spite of over four in 10 of 59-77 year olds acknowledging that accessing care will maintain their independence for longer. When considering the type of care they’d want, over two-thirds (69%) intend to stay at home, compared with just four-in 10 thinking about a care home.
These concerns are being exacerbated by one-in-five of 59-77 year olds not doing anything to prepare themselves physically, mentally or financially for older age. Less than one in 10 undertake any proactive care support, such as integrating medical and social care before reaching a crisis point, which further highlights a worrying lack of planning to age well in later life.
Another worrying trend emerges across the generations: the lack of attention paid to building and maintaining social connections so that we have a strong community around us in our old age. Only 24 per cent of Gen Z are working on this, and this figure drops for each generation, ending at just 15 per cent for Baby Boomers.
In spite of this overall reluctance, strong concerns surround the ageing process with half of all 56-77 year old respondents saying they are worried about their loss of identity which comes with eroded mental and physical capacities. Almost one-in three aren’t looking forward to any aspect of ageing.
Max Parmentier, CEO and co-founder of Birdie, commented on the findings: “For those in the care industry, the findings of this report indicate that the next generation to enter care may be arriving underprepared for how to live a healthy later life.
“At Birdie, we believe it will take the whole health and social care system working together to help our society age well- while the findings today show us just how far we have to go, we hope it can give us valuable guidance on how to focus our efforts to create a system of person-centred care for the future.”
