Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Chapter 3 – Effective interventions
To successfully include older people in the labour market, employers and policy makers must consider offering
jobs which are geared to the circumstances, needs and financial objectives of the over 50s. It is essential to
have opportunities for career change including advice, re-training and re-skilling, both for those already in
employment and those wishing to return.
Appropriate advice at the right time is also key to helping people make the right decisions about their
finances as they get older. For women in particular, advice needs to take into account the patterns of their
lives, such as the fact that more women are in part-time work and may not be members of their employer’s
pension scheme.
The current pension system is complex, with means testing used to identify those entitled to additional
support. Credits are available where individuals have not been able to make pension contributions through
paid employment. Age Concern has called for the reform of the pensions system so that all contributions,
no matter how small (including those who choose caring over their career) are rewarded.
As far as older people from Black and minority ethnic communities are concerned, research suggests a
variety of measures can help overcome the barriers to claiming benefits to which they are entitled (Delivering
Benefits & Services for Black and Minority Ethnic Older People, Barnard & Pettigrew, London, DWP, 2003):
• a specific strategy for benefits services aimed at understanding individual communities
• partnership working between the Government, local authority and voluntary and community sector
• outreach and face-to-face service provision
• language-specific helplines and use of community specific media
• voluntary sector resourcing
• measures to reach isolated older people.
iii) Communities
Voluntary and community work offers a range of opportunities for older people to develop both their skills
and wider social networks. People who stop work before the state retirement age and do not find alternative
employment are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. Yet, in general, they are not replacing paid work
with community activities despite the benefits that may be derived in respect of personal confidence, social
contact and learning new skills. Several interventions have been suggested to increase community
involvement amongst older people (Winning the Generation Game, PIU, 2000):
• diversity and flexibility in employment, including reducing hours in the last years of employment,
which will also create time for volunteering (SO5: 3)
• introduction of national and regional schemes for volunteering (SO6: 12), offering more attractive
opportunities to put their experience to good use, for example through mentoring and befriending
• introduction of pilot schemes to recognise and reward volunteering activity, including through small
stipends and in-kind benefits