CHARLOTTE: “Older people have never had it so good,” the headlines declare, above pictures of smiling silver-haired couples and stories about retirees enjoying the fruits of generous occupational pensions.
Pair that with tales of younger people struggling with the effects of spending cuts and it’s easy to imagine that the privations of austerity have passed older people by entirely. But it’s a narrative that simply isn’t true, campaigners and experts say.
It’s not just cuts to adult social care – perhaps the most obvious measure affecting older people. The withdrawal of funding for things like local buses, libraries, and small volunteer-run services is also common.
“In rural areas, bus services being cut back has a huge impact. In cities, it’s more about things like befriending services – infrastructure services supported through grants from local authorities to encourage volunteering. There are fewer of the small charities that used to provide services for our residents,” said…