Key things to know about life after retirement

• Ageing Britain: 38% of the population is of state pensionable age. (Men 65+, Women 60+)
  Source: ONS, 2008
• 12m people collect a state pension every year. And the numbers are set to grow as the baby boomers of the 1960s reach the age of retirement. Women born during the peak years immediately after World War Two have now reached retirement age (at 60 years).
  Source: ONS, 2008
• Bank of mum and dad: a third of people approaching retirement still support their children financially. And 21% of over 60s say they have less money for their retirement as a result of helping their children.
  Source: YouGov, 2008
• Looking after our elders: We're living longer but we're also spending more of our life in poor health. Between 1981 and 2002, the average number of years spent feeling ill rose from 6.4 to 8.8 for men and from 10.1 to 10.6 for women.
  Source: ONS, 2007
• Retired and poor? Nearly 60% of people find themselves worse off after retirement, and one in five feel their income doesn't bring the standard of living they'd hoped for.
  Source: Help the Aged, 2008
• Time for new legislation? Four out of five people think age discrimination is against the law in all walks of life. In fact the only place in which it's illegal is the workplace.
  Source: Help the Aged, 2008
• Grandparents are great: 82% of children in the UK receive care from grandparents.
  Source: The Grandparents Society, 2008
• Solo: more people now live alone than ever before. By 2021, more than 35% of all households are expected to be just one person. The retired are a growing factor in this.
  Source: Institute for Public Policy Research, 2005

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Key things to know about media habits

• A key audience: although over 65s make up just one in ten of the population, they account for nearly a third of the BBC's audience.
  Source: BBC Audiences, 2008
• Our biggest fans: the over 65s are more positive towards the BBC than any other age group.
  Source: BBC Audiences, 2008
• Keen viewers: the over 65s spend 83 more minutes a day watching tv than the UK average.
  Source: Ofcom, 2008
• Keen listeners: the over 65s spend 83 more minutes a day watching tv than the UK average.
  Source: Ofcom, 2008
• A digital divide? Older people remain much lower users of mobile phones than the general population. Nearly 9 out of 10 over 65s use pay-as-you-go phones (also most popular with teens).
  Source: Ofcom, 2008
• Getting less from the internet: The over 65s are in general less savy about new media platforms than the population overall.
  • less than a third of over 65s listen to the radio online
  • for those that are online, over 65s are using the internet for information & email purposes only
  • they are less likely to use new websites or use the internet for entertainment
  Source: Ofcom 2008/ BBC Audiences 2008
• Nothing personal: Over 65s are less likely to be willing to share their personal details in order to access websites, and are less likely to seek learning support to overcome their concerns
  Source: Ofcom 2008

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Page last updated 29 May 2009