Our population is ageing faster every year and, as a result, more and more of us are caring for older family members. Currently, around 18 per cent of people in the UK are aged 65 and over, and 3 per cent are aged 85 and over. In eight years’ time, one fifth of the UK population will be aged 65 or over, and this will rise to a quarter of the total population (19 million people) by 2045. The overall percentage of people over 80 is also growing rapidly and will see a fourfold increase in the 50 years from 2000 to 2050. The United Nations estimates that, by 2050, the over-80 age group will number almost 379 million worldwide, about 5.5 times as many as in 2000. By way of comparison, in 1950, there were fewer than 14 million people aged over 80 worldwide.
While it is good news that people are generally living longer, unfortunately many people live longer in ill health, often coping with a number of different illnesses and ailments. This places enormous stress in terms of time, money and emotional commitment on the millions of carers who help them. There are around 11 million direct and indirect carers in the UK and three in every five people will be carers at some point in their lives. One in five people aged between 50 and 64 are carers in the UK. Forty-two per cent of carers are men and 58 per cent are women. The current economic value of the contribution made by carers in the UK is £132 billion a year. By 2030, the number of carers will increase by 3.4 million. Many people are caring for someone with dementia. There are currently 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK, with 670,000 unpaid carers looking after them.
Sixty-five per cent of older carers – those aged between 60 and 94 – have long-term health problems, or a disability themselves and 69 per cent of older carers say that being a carer has an adverse effect on their own mental health. One third of older carers say they have cancelled treatment or an operation for themselves – according to a survey by the Carers Trust – and lack of respite care, or other forms of support, can have very serious consequences for carers, with many experiencing both physical and mental ill health. Carers providing more than 50 hours of care per week are twice as likely to report health problems as the average population. For example, carers providing high levels of care were associated with a 23 per cent higher risk of stroke. Caring also carries a financial burden. Fifty-three per cent of carers have borrowed money as a result of their caring responsibilities and 60 per cent have used all of their savings to cover the costs of caring. Twenty-three per cent have either re-mortgaged their home, or downsized to a smaller property due to their caring responsibilities.
So we already face a major challenge with regard to elder care and that challenge grows larger every day. Yet just 23 per cent of adults with living relatives1 say they have already discussed future care arrangements with their relatives and a third of people in later life have no idea how they would pay for any future care needs. For many of us, discussing future care wishes, options and how to pay for them is a subject which is avoided until a crisis hits … and then it is often too late. Most people are unaware of the financial restrictions relating to paying for care – which in effect means that most people have to fund their own care in the UK – or of the necessary legal considerations we should all arrange well in advance of declining health. Discussing preferred care options and how to fund them well ahead of a crisis can make the caring role much easier when the time comes.
This book aims to offer information, help and advice to all families, whether they are currently caring for older relatives, a spouse or partner, or just starting to plan ahead for the future. It will offer advice on all aspects of caring for an older person, or help you if you are getting older yourself and want to start planning ahead.
Notes
1 Polled by YouGov for Carers Trust, 2015