A new ILC-UK report (Lockdown not Shutdown) launched alongside this webinar is seeking to to explore the main reasons why spending falls in old age. It makes a series of recommendations targeted at policymakers and industry to ensure we maximise the longevity dividend.

1. Lockdown not shutdown – The
myths and realities of spending in
old age
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2. What is ILC?
ILC is the UK’s specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on
society and what happens next. We:
• Are independent and politically neutral
• Use evidence-based research for policy
• Work collaboratively to pioneer solutions for the future
Our work focuses on three strategic priorities:
• Maximising the benefits of longevity
• Ensuring longer lives are good for everyone
• Future-proofing policy and practice
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3. Partners Programme
Be part of what happens next
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4. Welcome and
introduction from Chair
Diane Kenwood, ILC Trustee
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5. Presentation of report
David Sinclair, Director, ILC
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6. Lockdown not shutdown
How can we unlock the
longevity dividend post pandemic?

7. Lockdown not shutdown
• Older consumers have significant
wealth
• They are spending a lot – but there is a
“retirement consumption puzzle”
• Addressing the barriers to
consumption will play a key part in
kick-starting the economy

8. Why does consumption matter?
• Supports meaningful activity
• Drives economic growth
• Satisfies our needs
But spending must be environmentally
and socially sustainable
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

9. Spending power of older consumers is
significant
Spending by 50+ consumers
• £319 billion
• 54% of consumer spending
• Consumer spending by households with
an individual living with dementia is
expected to reach £33.9 billion by 2040
• 80% of people with dementia list
shopping as their favourite activity

10. Spending could drive growth and help
meet age related fiscal costs
We could add 2% a
year to GDP by 2040

11. But older people underspend
• Retirees are saving £48.7bn per year
(2015)
• Consumer spending after we reach 55 falls
by approximately 1% per year

12. Lockdown relaxes. The hospitality sector
needs older people.
Growth in spending among older people
between 2019 and 2040
• Recreation and culture (£63 billion)
• Transport (£62 billion)
• Household goods and services (£49
billion)

14. Our health gets worse
• Poor health is one of the biggest drivers of
this gradual fall in spending
• After controlling for major socio-
demographic factors, we found that people
with a walking difficulty spend on average
14.5% less. (The Missing £Billions)
• IFS has also highlighted the relationship
between our health and the extent to which
we spend our wealth in old age

15. We don’t know how long we’ll live
• Because we don’t know for sure how long we’re going to live, we save money just
in case (precautionary savings)
• Another factor influencing how we spend our wealth is the fear that we might
need to pay for future care

16. We want to leave money to others
• Older people frequently mention leaving
money to their children or grandchildren as a
reason why they don’t spend
• The amounts gifted aren't huge: A 2010 ILC
report showed that that just one fifth of
grandparents in England aged 50+ gave
money to their grandchildren, for a total of
£647 million
• Note that one in five of us doesn’t have
children

17. We don’t need or want as much
• Work is a major driver of spending
• Perhaps we simply don’t value
consumer products in the way we did
when we were younger

18. We can’t get to – or around – the shops
• Many of us don’t go out as much as we’d like
(ELSA)
• Approximately 60% eat out at least once a
month but over 40% would like to eat out more
often
• The high street isn’t as inclusive as it could be
(toilets/noise/fear of crime)
• Last-mile travel doesn’t adequately help us
move around the shops

19. We can’t find suitable products and
services
• Our age doesn’t make that much
difference to what products we need
• Accepting that we’re getting older isn’t
always easy; products specifically
marketed for older people won’t sell to
those who don’t see themselves that
way
• Inclusive design is becoming more
mainstream

20. We can’t find suitable products and
services (“why are they so ugly”)
• Often the person using the product isn’t buying it
• Some of the most attractive products may fail on
usability and inclusivity
• Even if they work, there may be a fear that
mainstream products won’t do the job
• Too many of us buy these products once a crisis is
happening
• Attractively designed products sometimes cost
more

21. PR, advertising and marketing agencies
don’t remember or understand us
• Older people (particularly women) tend to be
underrepresented and stereotyped in advertising
campaigns. Stock imagery is pretty poor
• Some of the businesses commissioning marketing and
advertising simply aren’t interested enough in older
consumers
• Our natural reluctance to acknowledge ageing is likely to
be a significant reason why the marketing and PR industry
avoid or struggle with targeting and representing older
consumers
• Advertising and marketing is designed to appeal on an
emotional level, the industry will often actively choose to
sell to younger versions of ourselves because that’s how
we think of ourselves

22. Age discrimination
Upper age limits for products and services are
much less prevalent since the Equality Act in
2010 made age discrimination illegal
Businesses don’t think about older consumers
as part of their ordinary marketing activities
They may use imagery only featuring younger
people and language they use to describe old
age may be uninspiring and indirectly
discriminating
Some companies only offer products and
services online. As half of those aged 75+ are
not regular internet users, this is a form of
indirect age discrimination

23. We don’t have enough money
• There are undoubtedly some older people who
struggle financially; with the end of final salary
pensions, pensioner poverty is expected to
increase
• But older people are not inevitably poorer than
other age groups
• For many older people, much of their wealth
sits in housing
• But. oversaving is a bigger issue for most
older people than poverty. In 2015 older
people were saving 2.8% of GDP per year
• We shouldn’t forget that “the poor pay
more”

24. The digital divide
Online shopping may be a solution to replace high
street shopping for those who face barriers to visiting
physically. the pandemic has highlighted the fact that
digital exclusion remains a reality.
Fewer than half of those aged 75+ are recent internet
users. And people aged 50+ who don’t go online
spend 28% less than those who do.
The end of cash is a fear for some older consumers
• “I don’t trust this PayPal business that they’ve got, I
don’t want to use my card, I just give them money
and they do it.”

25. So what happens next?
An age-neutral approach is likely to reap
rewards
• We must invest in preventative health
• Products and places must be designed
inclusively
• We must help people to get a better
understanding of how long they’re likely
to live, and create financial products that
offer financial security for their whole life

26. Time for an Ageing Society New Deal
• Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933-1939 New Deal
sought to support economic and societal recovery
following the Great Recession
• “Green New Deal”, seeks significant investment
and legislation to address climate change and
economic inequity
• We need an Ageing Society New Deal alongside a
Green New Deal if we are to maximise the
economic opportunities of our ageing world

27. Panel responses
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28. The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS
President, Resolution Foundation
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29. Jenny Holt
Proposition Director, Phoenix Group
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30. Isabelle Szmigin
Deputy Dean and Professor of Marketing,
Birmingham Business School
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32. Q&A
Please submit your questions to panellists via the
Q&A tab
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33. Overall reflections
David Sinclair, Director, ILC
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34. Closing remarks from Chair
Diane Kenwood, ILC Trustee
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35. Work with us
Business intelligence: we’ll give you advance notice of our latest research,
ad hoc briefings on areas of specific interest to your organisation, as well as a
discount on any research you commission from us.
Networks and connections: our Partners events have included visits to
Number 10, briefings with prominent influencers, as well as the opportunity to
meet ministers, policy experts and fellow Partners.
Brand benefits: as a Partner your brand will be visible through our numerous
events, press releases and presentations, and give you the opportunity to be
positioned at the heart of the debate on longevity.
For more information contact
Redvers Lee: redverslee@ilcuk.org.uk

36. Future of Ageing 2020:
Together for tomorrow – Delivering a
better society for all generations
Date: Thursday, 3 December 2020
Time: 9.00am (for 9.30am) - 5.30pm
Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston
Road, NW1 2BE
Make the most of our early bird rate.
Register at: futureofageing.org.uk
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37. Thank you
ilcuk.org.uk @ilcuk
futureofageing.org.uk
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