Describe the positive and negative socioeconomic impacts of an ageing population using a case study of your choice. (8)

From 2014-2039, the proportion of the UK’s population over 60 is expected to grow from 14.9-21.9 million- just over one third of the total population. This growth of an ageing population is expected to have significant socioeconomic impacts, including placing strain upon the NHS. The increased prevalence of age-related health conditions that often require long-term care is expected to place pressure upon public health resources, with £26.3 million being spent on dementia alone in 2013. Increased life expectancy also means that more people will become reliant upon pensions for longer; with one seventh of the UK’s public expenditure (£100 billion) being spent upon providing pensions from 2010-11, further demand could initiate a pensions crisis. In addition, the UK’s elderly population is unevenly distributed, clustering in seaside resorts like Aberystwyth and other popular retirement locations. In such areas, services like health and social care will be forced to rapidly adapt while youth services and schools may be forced to close, costing jobs and affecting the area's social fabric. Despite this, positive socioeconomic impacts are also evident. The tendency for some large employers, such as the supermarket chain ASDA, to hire elderly people creates jobs and increases tax revenue, while construction booms in favourable retirement locations can create jobs in construction and services like leisure tailored to the needs of new residents. Pensioners also have higher spending power than younger generations- those aged 50 or over control 80% of the UK’s wealth. This has allowed the ‘grey market’ of health, leisure and other products and services directed at the elderly to thrive. These benefits show that both negative and positive socioeconomic impacts of the UK’s ageing population are spatially uneven and affect separate sectors of the economy differently.