Response to today's Budget

Age UK response to today's Budget

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said:

Pension Green Paper

'We welcome the consultation on pension saving, but some of the changes being floated are hugely radical so we will need to look at them carefully to ensure both current and future generations are protected.

'In Age UK's view any further changes to pensions must uphold three principles: they must give future generations a decent income in retirement; provide fairer incentives to save, particularly for those on low and modest incomes; and they must ensure stability and certainty for future pensioners. This is the basis on which we will assess the Green Paper's proposals."

Health and social care

'The confirmation of additional funding for the NHS is good news for health services, but the failure today to bolster the broken social care system is a false economy. Without care at home, ever increasing numbers of older people will unnecessarily end up in hospital, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces and costing more in the long-run.

'The Living Wage will provide a really important boost to care workers, but unless the overall budget for social care provision is also increased we fear more and more older people will miss out on support they badly need.'

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Notes to editors

Age UK

We work with our national partners, Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI and our local Age UK partners in England (together the Age UK Family). We also work internationally for people in later life as a member of the DEC and with our sister charity Help Age International.

Age UK believes that everyone should have the opportunity to make the most of later life, whatever their circumstances. We provide free information, advice and support to over six million people; commercial products and services to over one million customers; and research and campaign on the issues that matter to people in later life. Our work focuses on five key areas: money matters, health and well being, home and care, work and training and leisure and lifestyle.

Age UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (registered charity number 1128267 and company number 6825798). Age Concern England and Help the Aged (both registered charities), and their trading and other associated companies merged on the 1st April 2009. Together they have formed the Age UK Group ("we"). Charitable services are offered through Age UK and commercial products are offered by the Charity's trading companies, which donate their net profits to Age UK (the Charity).