Older people in the UK: under attack from all directions

Britain's aged population has, so far, been spared the worst of the government's austerity policies, which have impacted most on young people and those of working age. However, this has not gone unnoticed by a number of political pundits who are sowing inter-generational divisions, marshalling often highly selective facts to promote the argument that tomorrow's elderly population, the so-called 'baby boomers', have been living on credit that their children will have to repay. These arguments are falling on fertile soil. A combination of actions and failures to act by the government will mean that many older people will be much poorer than they had expected. This has profound implications for health; it is unsurprising that financial disadvantage in old age is associated with poorer health but less well known is the 'disappointment' paradox whereby those who were protected from adversity earlier in life suffer more when it confronts them in old age. While each problem is, individually, recognised, the gravity of their collective consequences does not yet seem to be appreciated by health professionals who will have to care for the future generation of elderly people, and who in time will join their ranks.