Hit by falling house prices and lower pensions, 9 out of 10 'baby boomers' - those born between the end of the Second World War and 1965* - are not confident they could afford residential care in their old age, according to a Bupa survey published today.
The impending mass retirement of the baby boomer generation has long worried experts. The Government also recognises the seriousness of the issue, and is shortly expected to publish a Social Care Green Paper to try to find some answers to this looming crisis.
Alistair How of Bupa Care Homes, said:Those who grew up listening to the Beatles and Motown are behaving like Peter Pan. They think they're living in Never Never Land where people don't age. Boomers are in a state of denial about growing old. If they don't act soon, their children are going to be left picking up the bill.
A staggering three-quarters of baby boomers under-estimate the average weekly cost of a care home place. Furthermore, over half (55%) of boomers worry they would have to sell their house to pay for their old age. A further 20% would need to rely on their children.
Over two-thirds (69%) haven't given much or any thought to how to pay for their care in later life. Around a quarter (26%) of those have ignored it because growing old scares them; and another 22% think their old age is a long way away. Other highlights from those aged 45-65 are that:
- less than half (47%) have planned for their retirement
- almost half (48%) don't think they will be financially secure in their old age
- 43% are worried about being lonely when they grow old
- two fifths would rather go into a care home than be a burden on their family (41%)
- around a quarter of boomers think they will no longer be able to lead an independent life in their 70s, and 30% think they'll be dependent on others in their 80s
- despite predicted public spending cuts 37% still think the Government will pay for their old aged care. Two fifths (39%) think they'll have to pay for themselves
Bupa is an expert in caring for older people, and recognises the financial and emotional costs of navigating the minefield of aged care. Today we are publishing a 10-point manifesto on how the country could improve care for older people - it can be found at www.bupa.co.uk/caredebate .
We believe that aged care has long been undervalued and underfunded. We want to see a transparent system that is fair and easy to understand. We also think older people should have choice - choice over what care they buy, and from whom. For all these reasons we are taking a leading role in the debate on the future, and urge others to get involved, too.
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Bupa's purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.
With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.
Employing nearly 52,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.
For more information, visit www.bupa.com.
