Latest news with #ageingpopulation


The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Rise in people living alone in UK driven entirely by over-65s
A rise in the number of people living alone in the UK in the past decade has been entirely driven by an increase in older people residing on their own. In 2024, there were an estimated 4.3 million people aged over 65 living alone, up from 3.5 million in 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This age group accounted for just over half (51.1%) of all people living alone last year, compared with 45.5% in 2014. The statistics body said: ' People aged 65 years or over accounted in full for the increase in people living alone in 2024 compared with 2014.' There were around 4.1 million people aged under 65 years old living alone in both 2014 and 2024, the ONS said, adding that the 'increasing proportions of people living alone in older age groups reflects an ageing population'. A higher proportion of women aged 65 or over in households lived alone (40.9%) than men of the same age (27%), which the ONS said is partly because of women having a higher life expectancy than men. The latest data from the ONS estimated there were 8.4 million people living alone in the UK in 2024, up 11% from 7.6 million in 2014. Meanwhile, the proportion of young adults in the UK living with their parents has grown by almost 10% in a decade. Young men – aged between 20 and 34 years old – were more likely to be at home with their parents than women in the same age group in 2024, according to the ONS. There were an estimated 3.6 million people in this age group in a family with their parent or parents in 2024, up 9.9% from 3.3 million in 2014, the ONS said. While a third (33.7%) of men in this age group lived with parents, this compared to less than a quarter (22.1%) of women. The ONS said more young adults living with their parents at older ages is part of a 'trend of adults reaching milestones later in life' and may be 'explained by a number of factors including increased housing costs'. The latest statistics also showed that lone-parent families were less likely to contain dependent children in 2024 – 62.5%, down from just over two thirds or 66.1% in 2014. The proportion of lone parents who are fathers has grown, from 13.1% a decade ago, to 16.7% last year. While married couples still made up the largest proportion of families in the latest estimates, this has decreased to 65.1% last year from 67.1% in 2014. The ONS said this was down to more couples living together without getting married.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rise in people living alone in UK driven entirely by over-65s
A rise in the number of people living alone in the UK in the past decade has been entirely driven by an increase in older people residing on their own. In 2024, there were an estimated 4.3 million people aged over 65 living alone, up from 3.5 million in 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This age group accounted for just over half (51.1%) of all people living alone last year, compared with 45.5% in 2014. The statistics body said: 'People aged 65 years or over accounted in full for the increase in people living alone in 2024 compared with 2014.' There were around 4.1 million people aged under 65 years old living alone in both 2014 and 2024, the ONS said, adding that the 'increasing proportions of people living alone in older age groups reflects an ageing population'. A higher proportion of women aged 65 or over in households lived alone (40.9%) than men of the same age (27%), which the ONS said is partly because of women having a higher life expectancy than men. The latest data from the ONS estimated there were 8.4 million people living alone in the UK in 2024, up 11% from 7.6 million in 2014. Meanwhile, the proportion of young adults in the UK living with their parents has grown by almost 10% in a decade. Young men – aged between 20 and 34 years old – were more likely to be at home with their parents than women in the same age group in 2024, according to the ONS. There were an estimated 3.6 million people in this age group in a family with their parent or parents in 2024, up 9.9% from 3.3 million in 2014, the ONS said. While a third (33.7%) of men in this age group lived with parents, this compared to less than a quarter (22.1%) of women. The ONS said more young adults living with their parents at older ages is part of a 'trend of adults reaching milestones later in life' and may be 'explained by a number of factors including increased housing costs'. The latest statistics also showed that lone-parent families were less likely to contain dependent children in 2024 – 62.5%, down from just over two thirds or 66.1% in 2014. The proportion of lone parents who are fathers has grown, from 13.1% a decade ago, to 16.7% last year. While married couples still made up the largest proportion of families in the latest estimates, this has decreased to 65.1% last year from 67.1% in 2014. The ONS said this was down to more couples living together without getting married.


The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Australian employers view their older workforce with contempt. They need to understand 70s are the new 50s
Hey recruiters, get with the program: 70s are the new 50s. Australians, just like in wealthy societies all around the world, are living and staying healthier for longer. You'd think this would be great news, but no. We are told that an ageing population is an albatross around the neck of our economy and a curse on our budget. It doesn't have to be this way but it will require smart policymaking to make the most of a willing and able older workforce. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email It will also require employers not to be such bloody dills. This week, a survey by the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission found that nearly one-quarter of employers classify over-50s as 'old'. To see just how ridiculous this is, consider that somebody who works for 45 years and retires at age 67 will have been considered 'old' for 17 years. That's nearly 40% of their working lives! Like all opinions rooted in discrimination, all this defies reason. A new article from the International Monetary Fund shows just how out of date these views are. The IMF has looked at data across 41 countries and found that a person who was 70 years old in 2022 had the same cognitive health scores as a 53-year-old at the turn of the century. Unsurprisingly, this spectacular improvement in mental acuity went hand-in-hand with people staying in better physical shape into their 60s, 70s and beyond. 'Better health means better labour market outcomes,' the IMF economists Bertrand Gruss and Diaa Noureldin noted. Gruss and Noureldin show that enlightened policies – such as a focus on ongoing training and more incentives to keep people in the workforce longer – can offset three-quarters of the expected drag from ageing on the world economy over the coming decades. 'Over a decade, the cumulative improvement in cognitive capacities experienced by someone aged 50 or over is associated with an increase of about 20 percentage points in the likelihood of remaining in the labour force,' they write. 'It's also associated with an additional six hours worked per week and a 30% increase in earnings. All this could mitigate ageing's drag on growth.' Treasury's intergenerational reports have increasingly focused the minds of Australians on the budget implications of an ageing population. As useful as these reports have been to inform the current debate around taxation reform, they may also have fed a narrative of drooling oldies who need to be propped through their autumn years by vibrant and athletic under-50s. If the IMF is right, that trite adage that 'demography is destiny' is, to a large degree, wrong. As ever, our destiny is what we make of it.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Swiss Re on China Life & Healthcare Opportunities
Paul Murray, CEO Life & Health Reinsurance at Swiss Re, discusses what China's ageing population means for the group's strategy in its third largest market. He speaks with Yvonne Man and David Ingles on Bloomberg: The China Show. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Swiss Re on China Life & Healthcare Opportunities
Paul Murray, CEO Life & Health Reinsurance at Swiss Re, discusses what China's ageing population means for the group's strategy in its third largest market. He speaks with Yvonne Man and David Ingles on Bloomberg: The China Show. (Source: Bloomberg)