A broader perspective Dr Kate Woodthorpe

Overview of my presentation Demographic trends Changing households, changing families Co-morbidity What’s coming Looking elsewhere from alternatives What we could do to help

Demographic trends Ageing of the population Older people working longer Older people living longer Increasing number of single households UK: small family size and geographical mobility puts us at a disadvantage compared to other countries/cultures where families are larger and/or live near each other and/or live together

Changing households in Scotland More people living on their own than ever before 2010: 85,000 2035: 130,000 More older ‘head of households’ Households headed by someone aged 85+ increasing 2010: 76,000 2035: 198,000 Financial implications of older single households

Changing Scottish families Later life marriages Later life child-rearing, smaller families Increase in divorce rates, increase in re-marriage Blurred lines of familial obligation and responsibility

Who steps up for who? “Most informal care for older people is provided by partners and adult children. Changes in family structure, whether it may be from having fewer children and starting families later, increased levels of marital disruption and more complex family relationships or greater geographical separation of families, may have an effect on the availability of care” (Centre for Policy on Ageing, 2014: 1)

Living with multiple long term conditions Audit Scotland: 27% of people aged 75-84 have two or more conditions 60% of all deaths are attributable to long term conditions Twice as likely to be admitted to hospital More likely to be disadvantaged by home ownership, income and so on

What’s coming for Scotland Projected increase in Scottish population To 5.7m in 2039 (7% from 2014) Projected increases in number of pensioners To 1.36m in 2039 (28% from 2014) Life expectancy rises 80.9 for men, 85.1 for women by 2035 Increasing death rate 57,573 deaths in Scotland in 2015 (6.1% higher than 2014) Expected to hit 1990s levels by 2039 Changing expectations regarding familial obligation

Implications for funerals Is adequate provision possible given the rise in individual responsibility for households? Can we assume spouses or adult children will step up, given changing family structures? Who will pick up the pieces? Intergenerational obligation Older adult children dealing with the ‘oldest old’ They themselves could be living alone with multiple conditions

Looking elsewhere for alternatives “… the British system is hampered by a discourse of welfare dependency rather than entitlement, which stigmatises those who need support with funeral costs at a time when they are under pressure to ensure that the deceased person receives a ‘dignified’ send off” (Valentine and Woodthorpe, 2014: 515) The purpose and shape of the welfare state, its relationship to commercial providers and local custom and practice is key That is, the relationship between culture, politics and practice

Our European neighbours Germany: high levels of protection through social insurance, everyone encouraged to contribute; emphasis on family, labour associations and church. Reinforces inequality through reliance on position in labour force Sweden: high level of protection through universal benefits, raised through taxation Some people end of paying twice through taxation and personal provision

What we could do to help “Simplification Simplification Simplification” Establish liability for family members/creation of hierarchies of responsibility OR focus on the dying/deceased individual Localised provision and targeted populations Universal acceptance based on income Matched funding schemes/social insurance Set figure/set parameters of what will be funded

Thank you for your attention today Valentine, C. and Woodthorpe, K. (2014) ‘From the Cradle to the Grave: funeral welfare from an international perspective’, Social Policy and Administration, 48 (5): 515-536. k.v.woodthorpe@bath.ac.uk 01225 386852