HSBC reveals billions contributed by older people …In the US, 60 and 70 year olds contribute $40 billion to the economy in tax and voluntary work

          

70 is the new 50, as people feel healthier for longer... Largest study of older people ever undertaken: 21 countries, 21,000 people

 

NEW YORK, May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The third annual HSBC Future of Retirement study, the largest study of aging and retirement ever undertaken, has found that, far from being a drain on society, older people are huge contributors to the economic and cultural wellbeing of their nations. Conducted with Oxford University's Oxford Institute of Ageing, The Future of Retirement project surveyed 21,000 people in 21 countries and territories.

   

The study explodes the myth that older people are dependents whose care drains vital resources from nations struggling to cope with aging

populations. In fact, through taxation, volunteer work and the provision of

care for family members, HSBC has found that those in their 60s and 70s are the foundations upon which their nations build.

   

In the US, for example, HSBC calculates people aged between 60 and 79

contribute $18.8 billion each year in tax payments, and conservatively

$19.1 billion in volunteer work. This is over and above the significant

contribution to family care.

   

"We are living longer and, in many societies, living better than ever.

This should be a cause for celebration, but recognition of this achievement is too often buried beneath concern over the funding of retirement," said Paul Lawrence, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

 

"This unique study shows that we should not allow such fears to obscure the enormous contribution that those over 60 make to all of our lives."

   

Kevin Newman Group General Manager and Senior Executive Vice President Personal Financial Services HSBC, commented, "It is clear that we need to rethink our approach to later life and to understand and appreciate the value of the work our older people do every day. The aging of the world's population over the next half-century will bring fundamental change to societies. Understanding the issues created by changing patterns in society is crucial to how we support both our customers and our employees."

  

Drain or gain?

   

The HSBC Future of Retirement study found that, two thirds (66 per

cent) of people over 60 volunteer, with over half (56 per cent) of those

giving as much as half a day each week. In the US, the over 60s provide

3.67 billion hours per year of voluntary work. At the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, that is worth $18.9 billion every year. In the UK,

people over 60 contribute 792 million voluntary hours per year, which at

the minimum wage of 5.35 pounds an hour is worth a total of 4.2 billion

pounds.

 

The study found that voluntarism is not limited to mature economies.

Older people in transitional economies also make significant voluntary work contributions. For example, in India, people over 60 give over 1.3 billion voluntary hours per year worth a total of $370 million (or 15.8 billion Rupees) to the economy.

   

Across the globe, large proportions of the over-60s remain in work. In

mature economies, between a fifth and a half of people are still in work in

their 60s. Even in transitional economies, there are large numbers active

in the labor market in their 60s and 70s.

   

The research also indicates that the trend of taking early retirement

in mature markets, with the exception of Germany, is declining. People not only expect, but want to continue working. Worldwide, seven out of ten people (71 per cent) currently in work, who expect to continue working rather than retiring early, say it is because they want to. Only in Russia, India, the Philippines and South Korea, is there a strong feeling that individuals have to work longer than they would prefer.

   

Professor Sarah Harper, Director, the Oxford Institute of Ageing, said,

"The HSBC research revealed that older people make a substantial

contribution to the family in financial, practical and personal care and

support. The value of this social care and support within the family is

enormous at over 50 billion pounds, or around 3% of GDP, in the UK alone."

   

Globally, older people give more financial, practical and even in some

case, more personal care, than they receive. For instance, 16 per cent of

those in their 60s and nearly one-third of those in their 70s provide

financial support to grandchildren. Older people in all of the mature and

transitional economies surveyed, with the exception of India and Malaysia, provide substantially more financial and practical support than they receive.

   

70 is the new 50

   

According to HSBC's research, people the world over are now able to

live the lives at the age of 70 that previous generations would have

enjoyed at 50. People in their 60s and 70s generally feel in good health,

and there are only small differences between people of this age and those in their 40s and 50s in terms of control and quality of life.

   

In mature economies, three quarters (75 per cent) of people in their

60s feel in good or very good health. The highest proportions of healthy

people in their 70s are to be found in Canada (76 per cent), the UK (73 per

cent) and the United States (72 per cent). But this is not only a Western

phenomenon. Generally, the transitional economies surveyed report good

levels of health too, with the exception of South Africa, Turkey and most

notably Russia, where only 8 per cent of people in their 70s feel healthy.

   

Moreover, to go above and beyond perceived health, the survey

identified 11 everyday tasks that most people undertake regularly and asked if they caused them any difficulty. Globally, less than a half of those

surveyed had difficulty with any of the daily tasks listed.

   

 Family - older people are the cement

   

The shape of the family is changing. In mature economies, falling birth

rates and increasing longevity has meant that families are smaller, with

more members of each family still alive -- creating 'beanpole' families.

The study found that we now have long 'skinny' families with an increasing number of four- or five-generation families, with fewer people in each generation. These beanpole families are also often being joined together through remarriage.

   

Professor Harper continued, "While we have fewer brothers, sisters and

cousins, we not only have more living parents, grandparents and great-

grandparents than ever before, but we also now enjoy increasing numbers of step relations. So, while some commentators lament the decline of the family, longevity is actually helping it thrive, and HSBC's research bears this out."

   

The study found that families define who we are. Across the world, with

the exception of Saudi Arabia where the answer is religion, the majority of people say they are defined by their family.

   

For further information log on to http://www.ageingforum.org