Alright - let’s talk 80% employment target. 🎯 Blair wanted to do it, but the closest he got was 73%. The closest we’ve got in the last 160 years is 76% - on the eve of the pandemic. So - how can the new Government get there?

Seen some commentary about how academic this Board is. I'd put in a bid for @ersa_news to be on there. If we're serious about engaging more ppl in services, we need the smaller providers who know how to do outreach better than anyone. (and someone from @Ageing_Better obvs)

Having only just started to re-engage with twitter, I've hopped on over to the blue place this morning, and it really is better. So, if anyone is still here...you can find me over there. Same handle.

Missing person: may be in London

We @Ageing_Better think @DWPgovuk needs to reform our social security system, so it better matches the reality of ageing in the UK in the 21st century. That means reviewing the way they approach people in their 60s. Read more here:

As Dr Ferdous notes, replacing 'chronological age' with 'functional age' isn't entirely feasible (from an administrative perspective, at least). But we can definitely do better.

Really enjoyed this piece. There is no longer a 'retirement' age - but the State still draws a clear line between 'working age' and 'pensioners'. This doesn't reflect reality. Lots of people pre-State Pension Age can't work; and lots of people post-SPA do/need to.

I am looking forward to hearing the Government's plans to increase Pension Credit uptake, to ensure that this move doesn't push the poorest people into even further poverty.

Maybe making those people *even poorer* will push them towards claiming (thus, in fact, making them better off than they would have been). @IndependentAge suggests that the feeling of 'not being poor enough' is a major factor in not claiming. Alongside stigma, of course.

Some are saying Winter Fuel Payments will now only go into the pockets of ppl who need it. The problem is - it will miss a lot of them. 1.2 million who are eligible for Pension Credit don't claim. Uptake has remained stubbornly low, despite CoL crisis. https://t.co/fsEYwua0gT

For those not familiar with AFCs: https://t.co/uaTkyHrMTf

This is what I love about the Age Friendly Communities movement. It harnesses the power of people working inside/with #localgov who view a system level approach to ageing as a way to solve their problems. And then supports them in a joyful, practical, bottom-up way.

Liz Kendall’s ideas have the potential to make things better for 50+ workers and jobseekers. Now we’ve got to go from potential to plans! And here is a blueprint the Gvt can work from:

The State Pension Age is set to rise to 67 before the end of this Parliament. The highest adult poverty rate is among ppl age 60-SPA. If we don’t do anything to make work more accessible for more of us as we age, that ⬆️ will just prolong many people’s misery.

🙋‍♀️We’ve got costed, prototyped pilot ideas ready to go! 💡50+ Job Hubs like Sandwell & Dudley tried out a few years ago. 💡A 50+ Work Trial Scheme like they’re rolling out in Northern Ireland. 💡50+ employer champions to help SMEs implement age-friendly employment practices

That means: 🎯 setting ambitious performance targets for 50+ and 60+ groups on Gvt-funded employment support services💡getting innovative. We don’t know precisely what works for 50+, because we haven’t tried enough things. Let’s use the reform of JCP to test and learn.

2️⃣ Fewer than 1 in 5 people age 60+ get a job outcome from the Work and Health Programme. That kind of performance is echoed across employment support services. We’ve got to get services working better for us as we age - no more parking, no accepting poorer outcomes.

1️⃣ So we need a specific target for this group: a clear signal from Government that they won’t accept people being shut out of work due to their age. Hitting 75% employment among 50-64s by 2030 would increase GDP by £9bn/yr and NICs and income tax revenue by £1.6bn/yr.

If you know anyone who’s tried to find work over 50 - & particularly over 60 - you know how hard this can be. If you’ve had anything but a smooth rise to the top in your career - if you’ve taken time out for caring, health, etc - jobseeking when you’re older can be a nightmare.

Labour’s started setting out their ambitions for younger workers, whose entry to the labour market was trashed by the pandemic. Now we need to hear about their plans for the other end of the labour market - the 50+ group.

Unsurprisingly, I see this through an age lens. The employment rate is *already* above 80% among 25-49s. So there’s two groups to focus on: the under 25s, and the over 50s.