Future of Ageing 2020
Virtual conference
Date:
Thursday, 3 December 2020
Time:
9.00am – 5.30pm
Event Details
Future of Ageing 2020: Together for tomorrow
Delivering a better society for all generations
Policy and practice is increasingly polarised by age. And the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resurfaced a young vs old narrative. Yet in an ageing world we need to ensure that society works for all. The impact of longevity on society isn’t just about older people: it will impact everyone. Young and old alike.
Younger people are undoubtedly facing a tough future.
- We know that every girl born today will have a one in three chance of living until she’s 100.
- We know that when she starts work, she will need to save at least 20% of her earnings every year in order to afford a comfortable retirement.
- We know that if she wants to buy her own home, she’ll probably need to wait until she’s over 35, in a relationship and working full time.
But at the same time:
- We know that a retiree today may be increasingly likely to live in poverty as final salary schemes come to an end.
- We know that while an older person today may be living much longer than generations before, they are also spending more time in ill health and
- We know that older people tend to have fewer qualifications than younger and take up fewer opportunities to learn within the workplace.
And we know that across the life course, age discrimination is a barrier to opportunity.
Through this conference we engaged experts, policy makers and practitioners to provoke conversations and pioneer solutions for a society where everyone can thrive, regardless of age. We explored, for example:
- How can financial services work to support saving among young as well as decumulation in old age?
- Has COVID-19 exacerbated intergenerational divides or brought generations together?
- How can we ensure health systems protect the acute needs of older people whilst also investing in prevention?
- How can we ensure that benefits and tax policy is intergenerationally fair?
- How can we develop “work” and meaningful activity which is attractive for both younger and older workers?
- How can we meet the housing needs of young and old?
- How can policy better recognise that social care is a life-course issue and deliver funding proposals which are fair across generations?
- How can older and younger people work together to address the climate emergency?
Our annual Future of Ageing conferences have been described by delegates as ‘one of the best conferences I have ever attended’. The conferences assemble experts from the fields of health, housing, finance and business to identify the challenges and opportunities posed by an ageing society.
Over 200 attendees joined us at the conference, including policymakers; business leaders; charity sector experts; public sector decision makers; local authority staff; academics; and senior journalists.
Thanks to our sponsors and supporters:
Session recordings
Debate of the Ages: Has COVID-19 exacerbated, exposed or undermined intergenerational conflict?
What is a generation?
Who cares? Fixing social care for today’s and tomorrow’s old
Inclusive by design – Making products and services that work for all ages
Addressing ageism across the life course
From first cell to last breath – Democratising access to prevention across the life course
The forgotten generation? Retirement income prospects for Gen X
How has COVID-19 exposed health inequalities across generations?
Keynote: 2020 wasn’t the year we were expecting
Blogs
Unlocking the potential of a diverse and multigenerational workforce critical for the UK’s economic recovery
2 December 2020
Blog by Natasha Oppenheim, No Desire to Retire
There have been a number of recent media reports of older workers – frustrated by the lack of response to their numerous job applications, but equally determined not to be defeated – resorting to some creative approaches to get themselves an interview with prospective employers. One was 63-year old Trevor Walford from Keighley, a former royal butler and cruise restaurant manager, who had been made redundant in March…
Innovating together: Why design accelerates impact for entrepreneurs
1 December 2020
Blog by John Mathers and Julian Grice, Design Age Accelerator
Unpredictable patterns of consumer behaviour; shifts in spending power; the rise of self-help; emerging socially responsible drivers; lack of readily available data or segmentation; perceptions of the older market as a negative amorphous grouping. There’s a bundle of known unknowns for entrepreneurs to get their heads around…
Homes fit for the future
30 November 2020
Blog by Chris Knight, Legal & General Retail Retirement
Traditionally in the UK, our home is seen as our castle. Frequently there is an expectation that the family home will be bequeathed to the next generation. In fact, 36% of UK residents will do this, that’s approximately 18 million people. But, much like castles, UK homes are predominantly old, and draughty…
Social care reform: time to re-focus on what people want from care services
25 November 2020
Blog by Deborah Alsina, Independent Age
2020 is a year in which social care has flown up the political, media and public agenda. Few of us can remember a time when issues in this sector were such a constant feature of daily headlines and news bulletins…
“Act your age!” – Generational stereotypes in the COVID-19 pandemic
1 October 2020
Blog by Liam Hanson, ILC
2020 has been a particularly disruptive year. Almost all of us have had something we were excited about cancelled. Almost all of us have been forced to work, study or simply entertain ourselves at home. Sadder still, almost all of us have known someone to have had coronavirus…
#AllAgesMatter in solving our housing and loneliness crises
18 June 2020
Blog by Stephen Burke, United for All Ages
One of the most frequent predictions for life post COVID-19 is the continued growth of mutual aid and neighbourhood action. Locked down at home, many of us have volunteered in recent months to help neighbours who are shielding and built new community links…
Beyond the numbers – understanding the wealth of our older population
15 April 2020
Blog by Arunima Himawan, ILC
Last year, a report by Netwealth, which found that one in five “boomers” are millionaires, gained a great deal of media attention. This is just one example of a common discourse in the media of those aged 65 or over, or “boomers”, having overly benefitted financially across their life course, often at the expense of younger generations…
We don’t talk anymore
2 April 2020
Blog by David Sinclair, Director, ILC
This week I’ve been skimming through an ILC report from 2008 on The State of Intergenerational Relations Today. We highlighted that social contact can have a greater impact on mental wellbeing than health status. Yet we also suggested that the majority of the population observe communication problems between different generations, Two thirds of survey respondents agreed that old and young people today live in separate worlds…
Together for tomorrow
31 March 2020
Blog by David Sinclair, Director, ILC
While there is a popular perception that boomers have benefited at the expense of younger generations, we should caution against pitching generations against one another. We know that every girl born today will have a one in three chance of living until she’s 100. But we also know the girl born today is facing a tough future…
If you are interested in writing a blog on how policy and practice needs to adapt to work for today’s as well as tomorrow’s older people please email LilyParsey@ilcuk.org.uk
Previous conferences
Future of Ageing 2020 is our sixth annual Future of Ageing conference. You can find out more about our previous conferences below, or take a look at our video and picture gallery of last year’s conference.
News
Ten reasons to join us at Future of Ageing 2020
- Help shape the intergenerational policy agenda in the COVID-19 context with local and central government.
- Contribute to the debate on the future of social care nine years on from the Dilnot Commission report with Sir Andrew Dilnot.
- Be the first to hear about the interim findings of our research into the retirement prospects of Generation X.
Future of Ageing 2020 – First ten speakers announced
- Sir Michael Marmot, Professor, UCL
- Sir Andrew Dilnot, Warden, Nuffield College, Oxford
- Sir Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder, Forum for the Future