WE NEED A NEW NAME

Sometimes statistics can be quite revealing, so we thought we would include details from a recently published report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

In their report, they say that in 2008 there were an incredible 20.5 million people aged over 50 living in the UK.

I knew we were the most important group, of course, but now figures prove it! The good news from this is that we can expect more and more specific activities, products, services and even entertainment geared for our age group.

For the first time, there are now more pensioners in the UK than there are children under 16.

Other interesting facts from the research included:

• By 2031, there will be close to 27 million people aged 50 and over.
• In the next 20 years, the number of people aged over 85 years in England will double and the number over 100 years will quadruple. 
• By 2050 there will be around 250,000 people aged over 100 in comparison to the figure of 10,000 in 2008.   

Clearly, people over 50 are going to be one of the most important demographic sectors in years to come.

Interestingly, a major concept is having to change because of the increase in longevity. In the past most people had died by 60, so all people over the age of 50 could be classified as “old”.

Today, with everyone living so much longer, this is not longer the case. Many 50 and 60 year olds have parents still alive and you cannot classify an active 60 year old in the same group as even an active 85 year old.

As things progress, it is likely we will see some new classifications for the areas between young middle-age and old age.

Have you any ideas for new names for age groups between middle and old age? We would love to hear from you - just use the link in the comment section below.

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