Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Saga quality of life report



The Saga quality of life survey is, in my view, the best measure of what it happening with the UK's older population. Let's not beat about the bush - it is the best measure, full stop.


10,000 people between the age of 50 - 75+ are surveyed on a monthly basis to gauge their feelings about their standard of living, happiness and health. Good size sample, good methodology and it is done on a regular basis.


The latest report has just been published. The above chart is the one I always find the most interesting. Look at the standard of living measure and see how that has changed by age. Until this quarter's research the 65-69 year olds have been the most positive. During this quarter, even this group of people have seen a decline in their lifestyle - this is reflected across all of the age groups.


Why? 


OK, this is purely anecdotal evidence but I do talk with a lot of older people and think I have a reasonable handle on what is going on.
For some, life is definitely getting tough financially, for a many they are still able to live OK but there is dawning realisation that the future looks bleak for them and their kids. Not a blip that will go away and life will return to normal but a significant and permanent reduction in their standards of living. Add to that the knowledge that their health needs are unlikely to be dealt with in an efficient and caring way and you have a recipe for ticking the box in a survey that say points to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. 


I guess older Brits can take some satisfaction from knowing that if they were Greek or Spanish then things would be worse - but for how long? 


From a marketer's perspective, these numbers are bad news. This is not the sort of results you want to see from probably the only group of people with some real disposable income. Dick Stroud  

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