Foreword

It comes as no great surprise to hear that ageing is ‘linked to social status’. The UK and US-based research led by Professor Tim Spector of St Thomas’ London (Aging Cell Journal) has revealed that:

Lower socio-economic status has a big effect upon health or the lack of it as we get older;
Lower socio-economic status increases the risk of getting certain diseases. It also affects lifespan;
Even the DNA is apparently affected;
There was a difference of seven years of ageing between women in the lowest and the highest social classes.

The professor noted the following reasons for this:

It is not only the effect on health generally. It has an impact on the ageing process itself;
The strain of being in that job, the effort-reward imbalance, self esteem and just generally the psychological stress of having lots of areas you cannot control in your life are perhaps more important than we have realised.

While this is interesting from the perspective of ECA readers’ clients, I ponder if having teenagers, older parents with health issues or just being a solicitor might have a similar impact? I am often mistaken for a 75 year old when I am in fact only aged 70. How about you?

But then one of my worst boobs was asking a client ‘And are you in receipt of a pension?’. The poor lady was not impressed. She was only 35. But she did look over 60 and was indeed from a low socio-economic group.

I do not wish to stereotype but the fact is she had just rolled up at my office after a fight (Police riot van, and so on) at the local crematorium. It started after a dispute over the deceased’s new electric kettle and rather ‘boiled over’. Believe me, I am not exaggerating at all.

I imagine the vicar and funeral directors aged a bit too that day. I miss that ‘variety’ aspect of general practice. And just in case you were worried, no hoodies were harmed during the fight.

Speaking of old age, the little problem with all our Home Information Packs (HIPs) appears to be about to resolve itself. I think it was the intervention of the frumpily dressed woman from ‘Location Location’ that did it. She looks older than she is too; definitely in need of a summer makeover.

In any event, it appears that HIPs will now not have to contain ‘Home Condition Reports’. So the HIPs are all but broken. The summer sun has rendered me capable of incredibly original puns.

But HIPs will still (for now) need to contain ‘Energy Performance Certificates’. Apparently these are considered ‘more important’ than the house actually being capable of standing up to an autumn gale.

In my view this is just one more example of vast amounts of taxpayer’s money being spent to achieve nothing more than an embarrassing climb-down.

Lawyers among the ECA readership have been left trying to sort out the mess of the other recent partial climb-down on inheritance tax and trusts. More will follow of that later in the year in ECA.

Now pity those people who signed up to become ‘HIPsters’ at £9,400 for the inspection qualifications. They are left carrying the can with a valueless qualification. Great stuff for the training companies but that’s about all.

Is the government actually capable of listening first and acting second? It seems not. I have to say that I do not look forward to spend my dotage with lots of half finished nuclear power stations dotting the countryside if someone suddenly decides that they are ‘a bit too dangerous really’.

As if this was not bad enough we can all look forward to a means-tested future if the survey by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) is to be believed.

The PPI has addressed the May white paper on pension reform and says that the government has seriously underestimated the number of people who will become eligible for pension credit over the course of time.

The PPI suggest that two-thirds of pensioners will be eligible by 2050. The government disagrees and indeed given the total lack of consistency in state-related planning in all respects, be that in benefits, pensions, health or elder care, it appears that frankly anything may be possible by then. Even the Home Office might be sorted out (I jest).

But at least the tens of millions of pension-credit claimants will all be very nice people in higher socio-economic groups, glowing in a highly energy-efficient way. That is so long as their newly purchased sheltered accommodation does not blow away and someone fixes that lead roof on the power station.

David Coldrick
david.coldrick@wrigleys.co.uk

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