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Later life
It is important for older people to be able to live secure, active and fulfilling lives. This chapter sets out a summary of selected areas of interest for older people and goes on to describe each indicator in detail.
Low income
Low income amongst the pensioner group is measured in three ways: via relative low income, absolute low income and persistent low income using a range of thresholds (Indicator 28). In this summary there is a focus on those with an income below 60 per cent of median income.
The proportion of pensioners living in households with relative low income before housing costs has fluctuated between 1996/97 and 2001/02, fell between 2002/03 and 2004/05, and has remained at 19 per cent in 2004/05 and 2005/06. There is a clear downward trend on the after housing costs relative low income measure, from 28 per cent in 1998/99 to 17 per cent in 2005/06. In 2005/06, there were one million fewer pensioners living on an income below 60 per cent of the median (after housing costs) compared with 1996/97.[23]
The proportion of pensioners living in households with absolute low incomes (below the 1998/99 median) showed a large fall from 25 per cent in 1996/97 to 10 per cent in 2005/06 before housing costs. On the after housing costs measure there was a large fall from 31 per cent to 8 per cent between 1996/97 and 2004/05. The latest data show that in 2005/06 the percentage remained stable at 8 per cent.
At the baseline (1997-2000) 20 per cent of pensioners lived in a household with a low income in at least three out of four years, on the before housing costs measure. This had fallen to 15 per cent by 2002-05. After housing costs, the decrease has been greater with fall from a 1997-2000 baseline of 22 per cent to 13 per cent in 2002-05.
Pensioners have a higher risk of persistent poverty than children or working age adults. In addition, both couple and single pensioners were less likely to exit persistent low income than other family types. They also, however, experience lower entry rates into low income. These low exit and entry rates for pensioners suggest that they have relatively stable incomes.[24]Pensions
Between 1996/97 and 1998/99 the proportion of working-age people in Great Britain contributing to a non-state pension remained broadly constant (Indicator 29). Between 1999/2000 and 2005/06 (although these data are not fully comparable with earlier data), the proportion contributing showed a slight decline. More men are contributing than women (45 per cent of men, compared with 39 per cent of women in 2005/06).
Self-employed workers were far less likely to contribute to a pension scheme than employees. Sixty-eight per cent of all self-employed workers had no pension provision in 2005/06, compared to 47 per cent of employees.[25]
Since the period 2001-04, estimates of the proportion of people in Great Britain contributing to non-state pensions in at least three years out of the last four have remained constant, at 49 per cent in 2002-05 (Indicator 30). Men were more likely to be consistently contributing than women (55 per cent compared to 44 per cent in the period 2002-05). The gap between the proportion of men and women making consistent contributions has decreased from 20 percentage points in 1994-97 to 11 percentage points in 2002-05.
Health
Healthy life expectancy at age 65 (based on self-reported health) is higher for women than for men (Indicator 31). Between 1981 and 1997 (the baseline year) healthy life expectancy at age 65 increased for both sexes – for men from 10.1 to 11.9 years and for women from 12.0 to 13.3 years. Since 1997 changes have been smaller and the 2003 healthy life expectancy[26] for men and women is 12.5 and 14.4 years respectively.
Projections suggest that life expectancy at these older ages will increase by a further three years or so by 2020. Life expectancy for people at 70 and 80 has also gone up. At present there are more older people than ever before.[27]
Housing
In 1996, 46 per cent of older people lived in a home that did not meet the set standard of decency (indicator 33). This has since fallen consistently, reaching 27 per cent in 2005.
Help to live independently
The number of households receiving intensive home care per 1,000 aged 65 and over has increased steadily since the baseline – 12.2 per 1,000 in 2005/06, up from 7.8 per 1,000 in 1998/99 (indicator 32a).
The number of people aged 65 or over receiving any community-based service was 81 per 1,000 in 2005/06, up one percentage point from the 2004/05 figure (Indicator 32b).
In 1998, 10 per cent of those aged 60 and over in England and Wales said that their life was greatly affected by fear of crime (Indicator 34). In 2006/07 this figure was 8 per cent, stable from the previous year (the apparent increase from 6 per cent is not statistically significant). In 2006/07, for those aged 60 years and over, 5 per cent of men stated that their lives were greatly affected by fear of crime compared with 10 per cent of women.
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