Living alone in middle age - how, why, and what are the policy implications?

CPC research has found that it is not only important to contemplate the increase of people living alone in middle-age, but also the reasons why people are living alone in middle-age. Changes in family life, highlighted by the Office for National Statistics release on the 2011 General Lifestyle Survey, such as decreasing marriage and increasing cohabitation, imply that the past family experiences of those living alone in mid-life will be very diverse.

In 2010, there were 25 million people aged 35-64, a rise of nearly a quarter compared to 1985 when there were 20 million in this age group. The circumstances of British men and women who are currently in mid-life, many of whom were born during the baby-booms of the late 1940s and early 1960s, now have wider implications for their future living arrangements and care in old age.

Using data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey, CPC researchers Dieter Demey, Ann Berrington, Maria Evandrou and Jane Falkingham analysed the partnership and parenthood histories and socio-economic characteristics of those currently living alone in mid-life. They demonstrate that it is important to identify the partnership histories of those who are living alone in middle-age so that future policies are able to cover later life scenarios for different groups of people with different social and financial resources. For example, men living alone in middle-age who have not had children, have no educational qualifications, are not economically active and who live in rented housing are likely to be most at risk of needing a social and economic 'safety net' in old age.

The findings show that men and women living alone in early mid-life are predominantly childless. However, at ages 35-44 one third of men living alone have at least one child that they don't live with, with the majority of those children aged under 16. Also, compared to those living with a partner, middle-aged men and women living alone are generally more likely to have no qualifications, to be not employed, to be in social housing or privately rented housing and, among men, are less likely to be a member of an employer's pension scheme or receiving an occupational pension.

"The findings indicate that the dissolution of a marriage with children is the dominant pathway into mid-life solo-living, but that there is also a substantial group of never partnered men living alone. Never partnered men are split between those with low and high socio-economic status." says Dieter Demey. "Women who have partnered and had children but who have then experienced partnership breakdown may be disadvantaged." continues Mr Demey. "Thus women living solo in older mid-life with no housing wealth, and who have had interrupted labour market histories as a result of having children, may be at risk of entering later life with low individual pension entitlements, and face the risk of a low resourced old age. On the other hand, we have seen that solo-living women in early mid-life (aged 35-44) are more likely to be highly educated, to be working full-time and be a member of their employer's pension scheme than partnered women."

"Distinguishing between different groups of individuals living alone in mid-life is important for policy as these groups of men and women will have different social and financial resources as they enter later life."

The full article is freely available in Advances in Life Course Research. A summary of this study is available in the CPC Briefing Paper 'How has mid-life changed in Britain since the 1980s?

Posted 08/03/2013 14:59