Independent living in later life

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Description/Abstract

This report brings together findings from qualitative research undertaken by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) during 2003/04 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This explored factors influencing perceptions and experiences of independent living in later life and analysed pensioners’ service needs and accessing behaviour, in turn considering the relationship between independence and service use. These issues are timely given the projected rise in the proportion of the UK’s population which is over State Pension age in the near future. The research was also designed to provide refinement of the DWP’s Customer Segmentation Model for Today’s Pensioners, a tool depicting a sliding scale of support needs, differentiating pensioners into seven subsegments on the basis of key demographic criteria.