We are living longer than ever before. Someone aged 65 today can expect to live to 85, nearly ten years longer than their parents’ generation.
This social revolution offers great opportunities - for the economy, for society and for us as individuals. Medical advances combined with better public health and living standards have given us extra years of life. Now we must add life to those years.
For more people to enjoy their longer lives, we need some big changes in our society. Our ambition is to transform later lives across England by taking action on interconnected and enduring societal issues that will make the most difference. We are blessed to have secure funding that allows us to commit the next ten years to achieving the greatest possible impact on people’s lives.
Our vision is a society where everyone enjoys their later life. By 2040, we want more people in later life to be in good health, financially secure, to have social connections and feel their lives are meaningful and purposeful. We know that people who experience all or some of these have happier later lives.
We will measure and track progress on these aims to be sure that actions are making a real difference to people’s lives. Sadly, today too many people are missing out on a good later life. We believe poverty, preventable ill health and disability, loneliness and feeling undervalued must not be inevitably associated with later life. We must act today to secure a better future for present and future generations.
