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A new report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee warns that young people in the UK will bear the greatest burden of an ageing society, after years of insufficient government planning for longer lives and lower birth rates. The report argues that today’s younger generations will need to start saving earlier and prepare to work for longer, as current policies are not enough to deal with the scale of demographic change.
The committee says that commonly used responses such as raising the state pension age or relying on immigration only address part of the problem. It highlights a “scandalous” and unresolved crisis in adult social care, noting that an ageing population will require many more care workers, potentially reducing the workforce available to other sectors of the economy. Encouraging people in their 50s and 60s to stay in or return to work is described as a key priority.
The report also points to widespread misunderstanding about the true cost of retirement and calls for a national education campaign to help people plan financially for longer lives. Committee chair Lord Wood of Anfield said there is little evidence of joined-up thinking across government on ageing, despite its “transformational effects”. Without changes in how young people are supported to plan for old age, the report concludes, the financial pressures and social consequences of an ageing society will continue to fall unfairly on future generations.
