Scottish Government

Population

About half of the adult population living in households in Scotland is aged over 50. Nearly one third of all households in Scotland have at least one member over state pension age.

22 percent of the 85+ age group, and 5 percent of people aged 75-84, are long-term residents of care homes or hospitals and are not included in the SHS.

The recent trend for men to live longer has meant a fall in the proportion of women aged 65-74 who are widowed.

Older people from minority ethnic groups represent 1 percent of the population aged 50-59 and less in older age groups.

Work and money

10 percent of men and 3 percent of women in the 65-74 age group are in employment. This is a slight increase since 1999.

73 percent of men and 62 percent of women in their 50s are in employment, whilst 13 percent of men and 11 percent of women are not working because they are permanently sick or disabled. For men in their early 60s, the proportions are 42 percent in employment and 20 percent permanently sick or disabled.

People over state pension age are less likely to say they have difficulty managing financially and that they worry about money than people aged 50+ who have not reached state pension age.

Volunteering

Overall about a quarter of people aged over 50 said they had done some volunteering in the past 12 months. Older people in rural areas are more likely to be volunteers than those in urban areas.

People are increasingly likely to be helping other older people as they get older themselves - 30 percent of volunteers aged 75+ were doing this kind of work compared with 14 percent of volunteers aged 50-64. Church and other faith organisations are the most common sphere for volunteering, and more so for older age groups.

Caring

The over 50s are more likely than younger people to be caring for someone in their own household and the level of care in such circumstances tends to be much higher. In the 50-64 age group, 6 percent of women and 5 percent of men are providing care for another member of their household. Amongst the over 65s, the percentage providing care is higher for men than for women.

The much larger group of people caring for someone in a separate household includes 17 percent of women and 11 percent of men in the 50-64 age group. The proportions of men and women over the age of 65 who are caring for someone in a separate household are about the same.

Internet access

Although internet access has increased for all age groups, a small minority of older people have internet access at home - 18 percent of those aged 65-74 and 6 percent of the over 75s.

There has been a rapid increase in internet access in the 50-64 age group. Internet access is more likely among men, people on higher incomes and in rural areas.

People in the upper income groups are the most likely to have access to the internet at home. In households with incomes above 20,000, internet access for older people has shot up from 28 percent in 1999 to 59 percent in 2002.

Household access to the internet by household income for all aged 50+

Source: SHS 2001-2002 combined

Getting out and about

In the four major cities, 56 percent of the over 65s have no access to a car. For those living in towns the proportion lies between at 40 and 50 percent, but in rural areas the proportion is much lower at 31 percent in accessible areas and 28 percent in remote areas.

The older people were the less likely they were to have made a journey the previous day. Men were more likely to have made a journey than women.

Community and neighbourhood

A very high proportion of people said they felt supported by family and friends where they live. Over 90 percent felt they could rely on friends and family to help out if they were alone and to keep an eye on their house if it was empty.

Positive views are also apparent in what people thought about their neighbourhood. Only 4 percent of older people of all ages could think of nothing good about their neighbourhood. Fifty-one percent of all older people had nothing negative to say about their neighbourhood.

Aids for every day living

The proportion of people with equipment and adaptations to help with every day living has increased since 1999. At least half of those who reported any difficulty with everyday living, and over 70 percent of people with personal care difficulties, had equipment/adaptations in 1999. In 2002 these rates had increased to over 60 percent for all types of difficulties and around 80 percent for personal care difficulties.