To engage the Wealth
Of Wisdom to be
found amongst older people
BACK
END DISCRIMINATION AGAINST, AND POVERTY AMONGST OLDER PEOPLE
SIGN OUR PETITION
SINGING LEGEND
ROSEMARY SQUIRES
(pictured below with Age Concern Hampshire President Lawrie McMenemy)
LENDS HER NAME TO CAMPAIGN
Claire Rayner & Older Peoples Champion, Dame Joan Bakewell sign
Age Concern Hampshire is promoting a petition
on the Number 10 Website which reads:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to end discrimination
against, and poverty amongst, older people
Britain is ranked 27th in the world for its state pension with 2.8m older people living in poverty. If retirement were to be a positive choice by the individual taking into account one's job satisfaction, health, pension and personal circumstance and every one was guaranteed an income in retirement above the official European poverty line linked to retirement and not age there would be no need to raise the age of eligibility to the state pension. The prevalence of depression is twice as high amongst unemployed people as it is those in employment. Redundancy, and enforced retirement is precisely that, has a more lasting harmful effect than any other of life's experiences. Therefore to abolish the mandatory retirement age would enhance the quality of life of many and prove cost effective - there are adequate means to deal with incapacity and incompetence. There is a correlation between income and demand upon the NHS, in all age groups, and therefore an adequate pension would further reduce demand upon the NHS and produce further compensatory savings.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/cost-of-pensions/
Chris Perry, said, “On the 25th January, some two years after it was formed and too late to influence the High Court in determining the legal challenge, yet beautifully timed to coincide with debate of the Equality Bill in the House of Lords, the Commission on Equality and Human Rights finally pronounced that the “default” retirement age of 65 was both discriminatory and a breech of human rights. This came a week after Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party speaking at an Age UK conference, confirmed the Government commitment to bringing forward its review of the “default” retirement age of 65 years and gave an indication that the Government would outlaw it in the new “Equality Bill” currently going through parliament – which is the importance and significance of this petition. Age Concern Hampshire has had a ten year campaign, “Worthy Of Work and pensions”. We believe that retirement should be a positive choice by the individual taking into account the pension they will get, their job satisfaction, health and personal circumstances and that everyone should be guaranteed an adequate income in retirement above the European definition of poverty – i.e a minimum of 60% of National Average Earnings. In order to pay for this people would go on paying National Insurance for as long as they were working and not draw their State Pension until they retired (like unemployment benefit) – with no need to raise the minimum age of entitlement. We believe these measures would considerably reduce depression amongst older people and reduce demand upon the NHS creating further savings.”
Putting the
WOW
into retirement
