Future of an Ageing Population

40
38.3%
35
Percentage of workers (%)
30
25
20
15
10
5
5.1%
12.3%
18.3%
0
16-24 25-49 50-64 65+
Age group (years)
Survey of residents aged 10+
of 40,000 households
Figure 4.5: Percentage of UK workers currently using home as a workplace by age group, 2014 47 .
For this to happen successfully, older people’s homes need to be suitable
working environments. Poor quality housing can make the home an unsafe
workplace and prevent individuals from accessing home-based technologies.
Sufficient space is also an important factor – homes built recently are smaller
than in the past 120 leaving less room for home offices or other suitable working
spaces. In comparison to the UK other Western European countries build larger
new homes, with the average new home in Denmark (the Western European
country with the largest new homes) being 80% larger than in the UK. This
represents the comparison between the average 85 square metre new home
in the UK, and the 137 square metre new home in Denmark 121 . Home-working
also requires appropriate infrastructure and supportive workplace policies.
Policy Implication
Working from home is likely to become increasingly common in the
future, particularly among older people. As with care in the home, this
can be supported by suitable design and enabling access to necessary
technologies, such as high-speed broadband.
4.6 Housing - a financial asset or a financial burden
Older people are currently more likely to own their home outright (see Figure
4.6). By owning their homes outright, people have the benefit of having neither
a mortgage nor rent to pay. This helps free up income for other uses. Housing
can also be used as an asset from which to release equity, and this can be used
to pay for costs in later life.
P60