By Hilary Woods Earlier this week I saw an article https://ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-09/Data-Gaps-report.pdf that talked about the dearth (I said ‘dearth’ not death) of data available that describes or even recognises the over 65’s. The over 65’s represents around 15 million people in the UK - give or take (and with this group the take is probably more important than with most). The group is about the same size as the Millennials, but it covers a span of

By Simon Dodd Recently I passed 55 fearing a gentle slide into slippers and daytime quiz shows. Then I read the numbers, and frankly, I need to up my game. Take the centenarians. There are now 16,600 people aged 100 or over in the UK, double the number in 2004, according to the ONS. Another 625,000 are over 90. By that measure, I'm barely middle-aged. A woman turning 65 today can expect another 22.5 years, a man another 19.8. That's a lot of crosswords. Retirement? People ke

By Richard Irvine I’ve heard Gen Z described in many different ways by their Boomer and Gen X bosses - snowflakes, lazy, disloyal, lacking resilience, drive, ambition, commitment… But the word I hear used most often is “entitled”. And there’s a degree of evidence to support this assertion. Stories abound of Gen Z’s reluctance to report to their place of work beyond one or two days a week. And then quitting at the drop of a hat. And when they do, they use a Messaging App or a

By Simon Dodd I've lost count of the village halls, food banks and charity shops I've walked into. The people keeping them going are nearly always over 55. They sort donations, drive neighbours to hospital and balance the books. None of it shows up on a payroll, and most of it would stop if they did. It frustrates me how often older people are talked about as a cost: pensions, health care, social care. Far less about what they give. From where I stand, the over-55s aren't a b

By Hilary Woods There is something faintly amusing about the way so many people talk about anybody born before 1960 when it comes to digital. There’s an assumption they are somehow terrified, baffled, or endlessly frustrated. Truth is I am often baffled at how badly tech people have constructed sites (see proving your identity on gov.uk) and how the talk of ‘frictionless’ means friction-less for the seller but friction-FULL for the buyer or user of a service. Where are the da

By Richard Irvine Much is understood about the causes and effects of the Menopause on women but less is known about changes - hormonal, mental, physical - experienced by a large proportion of older men. It has for a long time been explained away as the grumpy old man syndrome. A catch-all for the cantankerous, tetchy and in some instances, downright rude behaviour exhibited by a percentage of the male population. I wonder, though, if this is simply a cultural stereotype, a tr

By Michael Constantine Neither am I delusional nor exaggerating to make a point. I just keep coming back to the same uncomfortable numbers: 80% of UK wealth sits with people over 60. Yet only 5% of ad spend is aimed at them. That's not a rounding error. That's an entire industry looking the other way. Having worked in marcomms for decades, I understand and appreciate why it happens, of course. Quite simply, marketing skews young. It has forever prioritised and focused on reac

By Richard Irvine The other week I was back in London. And as per usual when I’m there, I try to catch up with my old mates over a pint and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. (Of course, as the years have gone by, the pints have been replaced by glasses of wine and latterly by zero alcohol beer…sadly.) During this last visit, I messaged my friend Steve* to see if he fancied a drink. He happily agreed and told me he would meet me at the local after football training. (Footba

BY Michael Constantine There's a persistent myth that irreverence is a young person's game — that anyone over sixty wants a card with a watercolour bluebird and a Hallmark-approved platitude about "Another year of blessings." Walk into any card shop today, as I did recently in search of a birthday card for an old friend turning 65 - and you'll find the opposite is true. The fastest-growing fans of rude, ridiculous, gleefully humorous and borderline inappropriate cards aren't

By Richard Irvine Who, indeed? You might be forgiven for assuming it’s Gen Z, or their younger siblings Gen Alpha. Their voracious appetite for taking selfies with 84% of Gen Z taking and sharing self-portraits every single day (54% of which showcase their make-up, clothes, looks) would definitely lend support to this view. And when you look at the uptake in gym memberships, Gen Z, again, is leading the way accounting for 47% of all new gym memberships. This and the link to t

By Hilary Woods I have a very good friend who was a stockbroker. He made a lot of money. His wife begged him to retire so that they could spend more time together. So he did, but then he couldn’t. Instead he set up a new wealth management company and finds Angel Investors for new start ups. He still gets up to walk the dog before taking the train into London (as he did when he was ‘retired’) and he still loves to grow vegetables in his plot at home; but he just couldn’

Ask most people what powers our economy, and they'll picture much the same cast of characters: a founder in a hoodie, a trading floor full of shouting men in their thirties, a venture capitalist doing arithmetic on a napkin. Almost nobody pictures a 68-year-old checking a pension statement over breakfast. And yet that 68-year-old may be doing more to keep our country’s lights on than the entire cast of Dragons' Den. The plain truth is this: people over 55 aren't winding down.

By Hilary Woods Marketers still talk about the “night-time economy” as if it’s a neon playground owned exclusively by 22 year olds in ironic trainers. Yet the truth is that there is another cohort quietly buying the cocktails, paying for the theatre seats, booking the taxis home and picking up the latenight takeaway. That alternative cohort is significantly older than 22: it’s Third Agers Over55s are now one of the most powerful forces in the UK night-time economy – which in

SIMON COMES OF AGE. SIMON DODD JOINS HIGH END THIRD AGE CONSULTANCY AS MANAGING DIRECTOR. A3A is a high end Brand, Marketing and Communications consultancy exclusively focussing on the full customs journey and total brand and user experience for the 55+ or Third Age market. It was set up to grasp the huge financial opportunity for brands to recognise and respond to the needs of this cohort by three extremely experienced senior executives with a genuine commitment to right the

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By Chris Stride If there ever needed to be proof that us baby-boomers are very much alive and kicking, you only have to look at the...