1.6 million older carers worry whether they’ll be able to keep caring or providing support to their loved one, says new Age UK analysis
Published on 12 June 2025 11:16 PM
As Carers Week 2025 comes to a close, Age UK’s latest analysis finds that 2.1 million carers are aged 65 plus; 420,000 aged 80 and above; and all of them navigating the difficulties in caring for a loved one when they themselves are ageing.
“Too many older carers are clearly living less well than they could and should, and their health is at risk as a result,” says Age UK.
In Carers Week 2025, Age UK is calling on Government to provide more support for unpaid carers and is highlighting the concerning position of our 2.1 million unpaid older carers (65+)* who shoulder an enormous amount of responsibility, often without the support they need.
This year’s theme ‘Caring About Equality’, highlights the inequalities unpaid carers face and what is needed to create a fairer society for them. Inequalities create negative impacts for carers’ lives, including by putting them at increased risk of financial hardship, social isolation, and poor mental & physical health.
Recent analysis by Age UK shows that older carers are more likely than older non-carers to be struggling financially: 27% of carers aged 65+ say they’re just about managing or finding it difficult to manage financially [compared to 21% of non-carers aged 65+].
Polling** by Age UK reveals the impact caring can have on an older person & what older carers have told us*** :
- 900,000 older carers had felt tired because of the care or support they provide.
“Although my 94yr old mum, who has dementia, lives in her own bungalow with carers 4 times a day, I am responsible for all her finances, shopping, organising house and garden maintenance etc. I also have a 86yr old husband with heart failure so I am basically running two households. Running between two homes and all that entails, along with the emotional stress has begun to take its toll in the last few years and I find I worry more about things which affects my sleep and get extremely tired, both physically and mentally”
- 900,000 older carers had felt anxious because of the care or support they provide.
“Looking after elderly parents who live with us. Lots of worry and stress feel like I don't have a life.”
- 500,000 older carers had felt overwhelmed because of the care or support they provide.
“I'm an unpaid registered Carer, to two people, both with MH needs and complex illnesses. I deal with 4 hospitals, none of which talk to one another! I wear many ' hats'. Nurse , paralegal , admin , cook, travel arranger, Mental health support worker. Mum, wife ..... I provide 24-hour care for my husband. I cannot enjoy any form of social life except on a very limited basis as I don't like leaving my husband alone. He is frail and vulnerable, and this has had a devastating effect on my mental health. I have no family to help and no friends or neighbours also. The burden of care is overwhelming, and I have been diagnosed with carer 'burnout'.”
- 350,000 older carers had felt lonely because of the care or support they provide.
“My mother passed away 12 months ago, until then I was her sole carer. This made me feel unsupported, alone & worried for the future. I cannot leave the house for anything other than a short period of time. That makes me feel trapped and fed up, but not clinically depressed (yet). I am carer for my husband. This means that I do not have time to take part in what were my normal interests, and have little connection with others. Family all live away. My husband has dementia, and I provide care for him. It is quite tiring, and I feel quite alone sometimes.”
The latest Carers Week report suggests there are 11.9 million people of all ages currently providing unpaid care to family members and friends who are ill, disabled, or elderly. The impact of caring can also be significant, affecting many aspects of life, from work and finances to health and relationships. 2.1 million carers are aged 65 plus, of whom 420,000 are 80 and above*.
The cost of the support unpaid carers of all ages provide is significant. In 2024, research from Centre for Care and Carers UK found the economic value of the cost of support provided by unpaid carers of any age amounted to £184 billion a year.
This Carers Week, along with partner charities, we are calling for greater equality for all carers and for the Government to commit to introducing a National Carers Strategy that helps to address the challenges carers face.
Age UK’s analysis for Carer’s Week finds that:
- 55% of older carers have a long-term illness or disability, equivalent to 1.2 million*
- 66% of older carers lost sleep over worry, equivalent to 1.4 million *
- 74% of older carers felt under strain, equivalent to 1.6 million *
- 25% of older carers enjoyed day-to-day activities less than usual, equivalent to 530,000*
- 62% of older carers felt unhappy or depressed, equivalent to 1.3 million *
The Charity also found 750,000 of older carers expected the amount of care or support they provide to increase in the next 12 months. Also, 85% of older carers, equivalent to 1.6 million, worried about whether they would be able to keep caring or providing support. Further, 69% of older carers, equivalent to 1.3 million, say caring impacts their physical health, while 1.1 million, 63% of older carers, say their caring impacts their mental health.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:
“Being a carer is demanding at any age, let alone when you are an older person. By this stage in your life you are quite likely to have developed some long term health conditions or disabilities of your own and to have less energy compared to when you were younger. In these circumstances, if you are caring the risk of burning out, or of your own health breaking down, is really quite pronounced.
“Older carers care because they love the person they are caring for and want to do the best they possibly can for them. They deserve our admiration as a result, but warm words aren’t enough - as a society we need to give them more help. Too many older carers have no one else to turn to and no prospect of a break.
“Providing more support for carers of all ages, including older carers, should be a national priority. We will certainly be saying that to Baroness Casey as the work of her Commission into the future of social care gets seriously underway. It’s not only the morally right thing to do, it’s in all our interests too. Unpaid carers, including those in later life, are the foundations on which our entire social care system is built and we put them under intolerable, unrelenting pressure at our peril.
“As this Carer’s Week emphasises, too many unpaid carers of all ages are being treated unequally because they are unable to enjoy the basics the rest of us take for granted, such as opportunities for recreation, rest and leisure. Really, this is the least that older carers deserve and we will be pressing the Government to deliver it.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
References
*Age UK analysis of data from wave 14 of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Percentages have been scaled up to the UK age 65+ population by Age UK using Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 2023
**Kantar online polling of 1034 UK adults aged 66+ for Age UK, conducted 17th to 30th September 2024. 15% of respondents were providing care. Percentages have been scaled up to the UK age 66+ population by Age UK using Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 2023.
*** Age Uk SurveyMonkey online survey conducted between 16th September and 7th October 2024 which received 259,011 free text responses from 28,873 individual respondents . The survey was promoted by Local Age Uks, social media platforms, and in an email to our campaigners.