Living in the 21st Century: Older People in England The 2006 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 16 July 2008

Funded by: National Institute for Aging UK government departments (coordinated by ONS) Currently : –Department of Health –Department for Work and Pensions –Department for Transport –Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs –Communities and Local Government –ONS –Her Majestys Revenue and Customs

A joint venture between UCL, NatCen & IFS Investigators from Universities of Manchester and Cambridge Thanks also to: our Advisory Group our consultants and advisors our collaborators

Key Research Areas Health trajectories, disability and healthy life expectancy Two-way relationship between economic position and health Other determinants of economic position in older age Timing of retirement + post retirement labour market activity Nature of social networks, support and participation Household and family structure Predictors of wellbeing

ELSA Wave One 2002 Main Interview (11392 core) ELSA Wave One 2002 Main Interview (11392 core) HSE + Nurse Born before 01/03/1952 Est HSE + Nurse Born before 01/03/1952 Est HSE + Nurse Born HSE + Nurse Born Wave Two 2004 Main (8780 core) Wave Two 2004 Main (8780 core) Wave Two 2004 Nurse (7666) Wave Two 2004 Nurse (7666) Wave Four 2008 Main (aim c 10100) Wave Four 2008 Main (aim c 10100) Wave Four 2008 Nurse Wave Four 2008 Nurse Wave Three 2006 Main (7535 core refresher core) Wave Three 2006 Main (7535 core refresher core) Life history 2007 (7859) Life history 2007 (7859) HSE + Nurse 2006 Born

PSA 17: Tackle poverty and promote greater independence & wellbeing in later life 5 key areas Making contribution in society, esp. through employment Material wellbeing, esp, tackle pensioner poverty Level of health Satisfaction with home & neighbourhood – interpret to include quality of life Ability to maintain independent living

Employment Trends in employment among those pre State Pension Age Expectations of employment versus actual Predictors of employment Work disability

Material wellbeing Who is poor and does poverty persist? How has wealth changed over time?

Level of health Body weight and waist circumference – important factors for future health Physical functioning & mortality – not randomly distributed Healthy life expectancy

Quality of life Who has higher quality of life Who does better in change in quality of life over time Notion of resilience to adversity – is this a rare phenomenon or not

Independent living Participation in society if have difficulties in physical functioning Social detachment – does it persist, what predicts its existence

In the public domain Wave ; report Marmot et al 2003 Wave ; report Banks et al 2006 Wave ; report Banks et al 2008 At academic archive for access: Datasets from Wave 0 (HSE years) Wave 1, Wave 2, Wave 3. Life history due soon Index file (tracing everyone through from HSE)

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