• Tackling the barriers to older people’s spending could add 2% (or £47 billion) to UK GDP a year, by 2040.

Supporting spending by people of all ages is a vital building block to the future success of the UK economy.

Yet as we move out of lockdown, the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) – the UK’s specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on society – argues that the economic opportunity of longevity risks being missed.

David Sinclair, Director of ILC, said:

“Over the past year, many older people have not faced as significant a financial shock as younger people.”

“Yet lockdown has made it difficult for some people in this group, particularly those shielding, to actually spend their money.”

“While older people have historically spent a high proportion of their income on essentials, our research shows that more of us want to spend our retirement income on leisure, travel and tourism. As we open our economy, we have to better serve this group of the population”.

“We need Government to introduce a mix of regulatory, legislative and fiscal incentives to support spending and work by older people. It’s time for an Ageing Society New Deal.”

“Of course, not all older consumers are wealthy and healthy. And we know that good health leads to more spending. For our economy to thrive with our ageing population, we must support good health throughout our lives to ensure that we can all continue to contribute to the UK’s future economic prosperity.”

ILC research over the last 18 months has highlighted the extent of the economic opportunity of older consumers:

• Over half of consumer spending in the UK comes from households headed by someone aged over 50 (2018).
  Spending by older households in the G20 averaged 22% of GDP (almost USD 10 trillion), more than the combined GDP of Japan, Australia, Canada and Brazil.
• In countries that spend more on health, older people work, volunteer and spend more.
  Increasing preventative health spend by just 0.1% can unlock a 9% increase in annual spending by people aged 60+ and an additional 10 hours of volunteering.
• Over the coming year, ILC will be launching a series of reports on the economic opportunities of ageing in countries across the G20.

Contact

For press queries, please contact press@ilcuk.org.uk or +44 (0)208 638 0832. Spokespeople are available for interview.

Notes

Over the last two years, ILC has published UK and G20 research on the importance of maximising the economic benefits of longer lives:

• Health equals wealth: The global longevity dividend (2020)
• Lockdown not shutdown – How can we unlock the longevity dividend post-pandemic? (2020)
• Maximising the longevity dividend (2019)