Older generation 'contribute billions' to economy
Published On 26 May 2007
People in their 60s and 70s are still contributing a significant amount of money to the economy, new figures have revealed.According to HSBC, the older generation contributes more than £59 billion to the economy each year, £5.5 billion of which comes from tax payments, £4.2 billion from volunteer work and over £50 billion in family care.
"We are living longer and, in many societies, living better than ever," said Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC.
"This unique study shows that we should not allow such fears to obscure the enormous contribution that those over 60 make to all of our lives," he added.
The survey found that 19 per cent of people aged between 60 and 70 do volunteer work on a regular basis, with the over 60s contributing a total of 792 million voluntary working hours each year.
The UK is not the only country in which the older generation are playing an increasingly important role. In the US the over 60s provide 3.67 billion hours per year of voluntary work, while in India the figure is 1.3 billion hours.
It is estimated that in mature economies between 20 and 50 per cent of people continue working into their 60s.
