Over-85s needing 24 hour care set to double by 2035

Extending the retirement age will reduce the ‘informal and unpaid carer pool’ who have traditionally provided for older family members and heap pressure on social care, experts warn.

Pushing back the retirement age could heap fuel on the social care crisis as a new study reveals the number of over-65s in England in need of round-the-clock care will grow by a third by 2035.

Health improvements mean many more people will live to develop complex conditions like dementia and over the next two decades the number of over-85s in need of 24/7 support is expected to double to 446,000.

This will take the population of over-65s needing day and night support above one million for the first time, according to researchers from Newcastle University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

While the number of older people living independently by 2035 is expected to rise 60 per cent – from 5.5 million in 2015 to 8.9 million by 2035 – the state pension age is due to rise to 67 by 2028 to compensate.

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