Call for a COPA today!

Show your support for having older people at the heart of decision making

Across the UK, not everyone is having the retirement they'd hoped for. Many people in later life face challenges - these could be worries about having the money to live well, trouble accessing the right care and support, or experiencing ageist attitudes.

Older people need a voice for later life, now and for the future. In less than 20 years, 1 in 4 of us will be over 65 - and so we need solutions to the problems people face in later life now, to help plan for an ageing population.

Independent Age, Centre for Ageing Better, Age UK and National Pensioners Convention have brought together over 70 organisations to call on the Government to create a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing (COPA). They would amplify and raise awareness of the issues that older people and our ageing society face, and then bring together government departments to resolve and deliver these issues, to beneft us all as we age.

Show your support for a COPA by filling out the form below.

Click here to read our open letter

Across the UK, we know not everyone is having a secure retirement.

We call on the Government to establish a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England to act as an independent champion for older people and ensure that policy and practice across government considers the long-term needs of people in later life and the implications of our ageing population on society.

Our society is ageing, and policymakers should embrance this demographic shift. Currently 11 million people are aged 65 or over, and in less than 20 years over 17 million (1 in 4) of us will be over 65. Growing older is a privilege, but an ageing population will require collaboration and joined-up thinking to deliver innovative policy solutions and meet the needs of the future, including alternatives to accessing information and services other than online.

The support people need in later life from institutions like the NHS and social care, and social secuity systems are critical, but no single government department can respond to these issues alone. A Commissioner would facilitate the long-term planning that is needed to ensure our economy and public services are adapting to demographic shifts, while also enabling more people to age well. This would not just benefit older people, but our country as a whole.

A sharper focus on the range of experiences in later life is required. Not everyone enjoys a financially secure retirement - indeed an alarming proportion are struggling to make ends meet - and too often, older people's rights and interests are forgotten by decision-makers, particularly as we face unprecedented crises.

But there is an opportunity to fix this. Older people want to be part of the country's vision, now, and in the future. As our older people becomes increasingly diverse, we believe that older people ugently need a champion at the heart of the government, working alongside the Older People's Commissioners for Wales and Northern Ireland, to help make the UK the best place in the world to grow old.

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