- Over-65s revealed to play a pivotal role in society, caring for family members, volunteering in communities, mentoring and providing support in the lives of younger people new report says
- Survey conducted among 2,100 people in the UK, including Scotland, shows a strong desire for more intergenerational interactions, especially in the post-pandemic world
- Edwards Lifesciences’ ‘Unifying Generations’ report recommends to transform perceptions of the 3rd generation, encourage mentoring schemes and improve digital skills of older people
Over-65s play a pivotal role in Scottish society and in the lives of younger people by volunteering, mentoring, providing care, and giving financial contributions according to a new report Unifying Generations: Building the Pathway to Intergenerational Solidarity’ from Edwards Lifesciences.
The report, based on a survey of 2,100 people across the UK, including Scotland, calls for a change in perceptions of the ‘3rd generation’ and greater recognition of their role as ‘unifiers’ between generations.
“I have been a volunteer for over 35 years. I started with the scouts and now run Volunteering Matters’ RSVP Forth Valley programme which encourages older people to use their experience to help the local community in the Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire areas,” said Rosemary Fletcher, 73.
“Helping others is what motivates me and my fellow volunteers to get up every day. It is vital to us. When the Covid lockdown happened and we older people had to isolate, it was a shock. I needed to do something, to contribute in my own way.
“To help our local GPs cope with the number of visits, I brought together senior colleagues alongside younger volunteers including some from my scout network who wanted to study medicine. They were able to support the local practitioners in their daily tasks. But I didn’t want to stop there, there was so much to do.
“I decided to support Catalyst, a charity based in Stockton-on-Tees, carrying out a survey of how local charitable organisations were coping during lockdown making up to 12 video calls a day,” continued Rosemary, who received the ultimate recognition of an MBE in the New Year Honours 2021.
In contrast to existing perceptions, the survey results highlighted the significant social contributions of the 3rd generation.
In Scotland, 27% of the over-65s provide care to family members, which is higher than the UK average (23%), and 19% provide support to family members in daily tasks such as shopping and driving.
In addition, 47% provide financial support to younger people within their family, especially giving towards holidays and leisure (28%). Outside the family, older Scots are engaged in their communities: 19% volunteer locally, and 17% volunteer in a charity.i
In turn, younger Scots value the role of the older generation in their lives. Seventy-two percent (72%) of those aged 18-40 said the support from over-65s was very important or somewhat important.i
“I wholeheartedly endorse the report’s three recommendations. By changing perceptions of older people, we celebrate and recognise their pivotal contribution, and encourage even more” commented Derek Thomas, Member of Parliament for St Ives.
“New mentoring schemes will help our younger people to make greater strides educationally and vocationally, while digital training for older people will reduce isolation and keep family and communities much closer. There is so much to be gained by bringing our generations closer together.”
Many benefits of intergenerational interactions were also highlighted in the report. According to younger people in Scotland, listening and giving advice (53%) is the most valuable skill older people can offer them.i This is higher than the UK average of 45%.
This was followed by companionship/friendship (47%), sharing historical or cultural knowledge (42%), and mental and emotional well-being (34%). Additionally, 32% of younger Scots believe that mentoring or educational schemes provided by national or local government would help them to do more with older generations. The older generation recognise the need to improve its digital skills with 37% saying they would most like to learn technology and digital media from younger people.
One of the most positive themes was the willingness to improve intergenerational interactions. Eighty-two percent (82%) of people of all ages thought closer relations between generations are a good thing, which is higher than the UK average of 76%.
In addition, close to half (49%) had a friend of a different generation and 42% were open to having one. Results from the survey also cited the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the main barriers to closer relations between age groups, with 32% of respondents believing that younger and older people were further apart since the pandemic and 28% saying they now spent less time with someone of a different generation. Now is the time to recover.
The report makes three recommendations to ensure that the UK continues to move towards a more unified society: campaigns to transform perceptions of the value of senior people and their interactions with younger generations, greater opportunities for mentoring and knowledge sharing from older to younger generations; and schemes that help senior people interact more in the digital realm.
“With people living longer and healthier lives, it is important to transform perceptions about the older generation,” noted Nick Walker, Country Senior Director, Edwards Lifesciences UK and Ireland.
“The Unifying Generations report sheds light on the pivotal social and economic contribution of the senior population and demonstrates the importance of protecting their health and well-being.”
The report will be launched today at a Parliamentary event hosted by Rachael Maskell MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People and Derek Thomas MP.
To learn more and download the full report, please visit: