The value of oldies

If you remember the WVS that was such a big presence in the war years, providing food and refuge for the bombed-out and catering for soldiers on leave, then you’re an oldie. And you probably have a spark of indignation about the way everyone moans on now about the ageing society, as though they expect mass hara-kiri to be carried out so as to leave the field clear for those in their supposedly successful young years. But the WRVS as it now is claims that oldies, far from being the drain that is conventionally assumed, actually add huge value to the British economy through the voluntary work they do. By 2030, a projection shows that this work will be worth £75 billion pounds.

Lynne Berry, WRVS chief executive, calls older people a ‘most extraordinary resource’. The ICM poll carried out for the current study found that 65% of retired people contribute voluntary work, and already benefit the economy to £175 billion. So let’s hear it for the oldies, who quietly work their socks off in the service of the big (or small) society.