Longitudinal insights into the ageing population

In several countries the fraction of the population who are very old is increasing dramatically. Interest in this phenomenon in part reflects concern about the burdens this section of the community will place on younger people. Views of the elderly are generally based on cross-sectional data on generations who 'aged' in quite different circumstances to those who will be old in 20 or 40 years time. This paper describes recent findings relevant to the changing experiences of older men and women during the 1970s and early 1980s from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Longitudinal Study. This is a new source which enables researchers to study the sociodemographic histories of a representative sample of the population of England and Wales. The period after retirement from formal employment is one which sees men and women experience more changes to their domestic circumstances than is commonly appreciated. Many of these changes are related to earlier socioeconomic circumstances which also influence people's abilities to cope with change and their need for support.