‘Baby boomers’ heading into later years with their eyes closed

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Research reveals that Baby Boomers are worried about old age, but many are failing to prepare for it.

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London, UK - 9th October: The demographic split of the UK’s population is skewing increasingly older, with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) predicting that there will be almost 20 million people living in the country aged 65 years and over by 2028, an increase of 80% from today’s 11 million.

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This naturally will alter the face of the UK’s care industry, placing more strain on the already stretched system, where 1.5 million people already don’t get the care they need.

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With these impending demographic and cultural shifts, home healthcare technology provider, Birdie, commissioned independent research to investigate the attitudes and behaviours of those who will soon enter their ‘golden years’, with concerning findings.

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A generation that doesn’t think it’ll need care 

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A quarter (26%) of those aged 59-77 (known as “Baby Boomers”) believe they will never need additional care support, which is more than any other generation (14% of Gen Z think they will never require additional care support, while 16% of millennials think they won’t).

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20% of Boomers stated they would not accept additional care in the event of chronic illness.

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This is in spite of over four-in-ten (42%) of 59-77 year olds acknowledging that accessing care will maintain their independence for longer. When considering the type of care they’d want, over two-thirds (69%) intend to stay at home, compared with just four-in-ten (42%) thinking about a care home.

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A generation unprepared 

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These concerns are being exacerbated by one-in-five (18%) of 59-77 year olds not doing any activity to prepare themselves physically or mentally for older age. Less than one-in-10 (8%) undertake any proactive care support, such as integrating medical and social care before reaching a crisis point, which further highlights a worrying lack of planning to age well in later life.

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Another worrying trend emerges across the generations: the lack of attention paid to building and maintaining social connections so that we have a strong community around us in our old age. Only 24% of Gen Z are working on this, and this figure drops for each generation, ending at just 15% for Baby Boomers. 

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In spite of this overall reluctance, strong concerns surround the ageing process with half (49%) of all 56-77 year old respondents saying they are worried about their loss of identity which comes with eroded mental and physical capacities. Almost one-in three (29%) aren't looking forward to any aspect of ageing. 

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Max Parmentier, CEO and co-founder of Birdie, commented on the findings:

“For those in the care industry, the findings of this report indicate that the next generation to enter care may be arriving underprepared for how to live a healthy later life. At Birdie, we believe it will take a new model of joint health and social care that is proactive and patient-centric to help our society age well - while the findings today show us just how far we have to go, we hope it can give us valuable guidance on how to focus our efforts to create a more resilient system that relies on everyone in the community - it takes a village to look after the more vulnerable.”

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Please find the full report here. 

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Notes to editor 

The research was conducted by Censuswide and surveyed 2000 UK based adults on their views towards ageing in a nationally representative survey. 

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About Birdie 

Launched in 2017, Birdie is the leading home healthcare tech platform helping the care community deliver personalised care at home. On a mission to reinvent care, Birdie believes the elder generation should have vibrant and happy lives as they age in their own home. 

Birdie's all-in-one solution supports millions of care visits every month, equipping care providers with the tools they need to deliver better quality care and improve efficiency across most day-to-day operations. The B-Corp certified company was recently named as a top two Home Health Tech provider in the cohort of top 150 Most Innovative Digital Health startups by CB Insight in 2021. 

Birdie is headquartered in London and employs a team of over 100 employees.

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