Day 9 - Give older people a voice

Independent Age believes nobody should face financial hardship in later life. As a charity working across the UK, they aim to support people in later life experiencing financial hardship by providing free information and advice for older people and their families, giving grants for community organisations and campaigning for policy change.

Right now, more than two million older people live below the poverty line, with millions more hovering precariously above it. What that means is that across the UK, millions of older people are not having the later life they’d hoped for. In a cost-of-living crisis, many older people are struggling to balance the books, while others face different issues like ageism in their community, or difficulty getting health and care support.

Like any age group, people in later life are a mixed and varied group, and so creating a society that meets their needs requires effort and attention. Far too often, however, that effort and attention isn’t given, and result in older people facing significant barriers just to get through their day-to-day. Whether those barriers are caused by ageist attitudes, lacking or absent services or a lack of understanding about what older people want and need, they can leave older people feeling invisible and powerless. As one woman in Leeds told us:

“People need services for a life, so many of us can’t go out and then there’s nothing. I don’t like complaining as it puts me in a bad mood. When I think I should complain, the point I think is ‘who wants to listen to me?’”

To combat against this, we need an independent champion in government to stand up for older people. We believe that we need a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing.

A Commissioner can bring about the changes we need in our society to overcome the barriers older people face. They would be an independent champion, tasked with spotlighting what older people need, and they would bring together decision-makers to make sure the big issues older people face are given the attention they require.

How can you help?

Our research has shown that many people in later life don’t feel like the world has been crafted with their needs in mind. It’s time that changed, and here’s how you can show your support.

Over 70 organisations and thousands of supporters have backed our campaign so far, and we’ll be taking your support straight to the top. We want the leaders of political parties to commit to establishing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing ahead of the next General Election, to show they’re serious about the issues affecting older people like pensioner poverty.

You can support the campaign here:

Independent Age also recently released some new research, asking older people what it’s like for them to grow older. What they heard was shocking, not least because many older people simply feel invisible. Learning from older people directly about what needs to change, and sharing that with friends and family can go a long way to shifting the dial.

Together, we can make sure there’s a Commissioner of Older People and Ageing, who will benefit us all as we age.