OAPs Get A Second Life
AGEISTS all over the Britain can no longer bemoan the nation’s old folk and pose the question: “Just what do they contribute?”
The old dears contribute a whopping £59 billion each year to the economy.
The eye-opening figures are included in HSBC’s Future of Retirement study, a major undertaking which interviewed over 20,000 people in 21 countries.
The study found that, worldwide, more and more over-60s are eschewing retirement and staying in employment and more older people are providing financial, practical and personal care than are receiving it.
In the UK, the state takes around £5.5 billion in tax each year from people between the age of 60 and 80; a staggering £50 billion of caring support is provided by UK retirees each year.
Help The Aged’s David Sinclair is more downbeat. Says he: “This report shows many older people are leading full, active lives and that pensioners are increasingly becoming aware of their contribution to society. That’s fantastic. But for large numbers of older people in the UK the reality is still quite different. Many UK pensioners face barriers to an active lifestyle – ageist attitudes, badly thought out transport planning and an increase in public toilet closures.”
Still, be nice to Grandad and Grandma as you never know how much cash they have under their beds.
The likelihood is that most people who partake in the online virtual world ‘Second Life’ are under 65, but these geeky gamesters could now have to start paying real taxes after a US congressional investigation into the strange alternative universe.
Posted: 22nd, May 2007 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
