Does money matter? Older people's views of their monetary resources
A review of how older people use their money and what needs they feel should be met.
Does money matter? summarises key points and issues in the literature on older people and their money. The report also includes reflections of a group of experts – older people and others – on how older people view their financial circumstances, how they use their money and what needs they feel should be met. The report reviews the process of identifying key themes and relevant sources, which began with discussions with experts, individual interviews and focus groups.
Some of the sources were ‘grey literature’, information and advisory material which the experts felt were particularly useful and reflected older people’s concerns. Other material found was research literature, which had investigated both general and specific issues. The report includes a full literature review, which highlights areas of concern to the older people involved in this project which were not reflected in the literature.
The overriding conclusion was that the value of money for older people rests in what it enables them to do, and in the sense of control over personal circumstances that it gives.