Experiences of racism continue to scar and disadvantage England’s Black Caribbean people in older age

Age UK says much more can and should be done to help ‘level the playing field’ for this group of older people - who have the same right to a happy and fulfilling later life as everyone else

A new report from Age UK ‘Ageing while Black: the experiences of older Black Caribbean people in England’. draws on in depth interviews with older Black Caribbean people to understand more about what it’s like to age in our country while Black. It finds that in later life, they often continue to face significant barriers in many aspects of their lives, including accessing vital public services like the NHS and benefits, because of disadvantages that have accumulated over a lifetime and the way this intersects with institutionalised racism and ageism they encounter today.  

The Charity commissioned the research on which the report is based as a follow up to its work in support of the Windrush Generation’s efforts to obtain justice and recompense for the harm and distress caused for them by the Windrush Scandal and hostile environment policies.

Age UK says that although the needs and experiences of older people from racially minoritised communities are under-researched, with official data often scanty or completely absent, all the evidence that does exist tends to point in the same direction: these are people who are often faring less well than the rest of our older population, and they are over-represented among the groups who experience problems that undermine a person’s capacity to live well as they age.

For example, we know that over half of people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds  aged 50+ in England (53%) are experiencing one or more issues, such as loneliness, poor health, an unmet need for care and poverty – the kind of challenges that Age UK is here to help prevent and to support older people with – compared to two fifths (42%) of white people aged 50+[i].

In addition:

• One in four Black pensioners in the UK lives in poverty – compared with around one in six pensioners overall.[ii]
• Rates of poor health among Black Caribbean men and women in England & Wales are equivalent to White British people ten years older.[iii]
• Black Caribbean people aged 50 and over in England are far less likely to own their homes mortgage-free (31%) compared with all people over 50 in England (54%)[iv] and are more than twice as likely to live in social housing.
• Black Caribbean households aged over 50 in England are twice as likely to live in housing deprivation (10.3%) compared to all ethnic groups (5.3%)[v]

The study highlights how decades of racism and inequality often manifest in later life in poorer health and wellbeing, financial insecurity, lower home ownership rates, and reduced trust in and access to public services. Some of the participants described experiences of being overlooked, mistrusted, or excluded, particularly earlier on in their lives, with racism and now ageism often intersecting to disadvantage them today. 

Quotes from older black people

“I have sat in meetings where marginalised young people have been compared to hungry children in Africa and not one person thought this was inappropriate. “Female, 50-60, London

“I was in the catering department and this lady came up to me and said, ‘can I ask you something?’, so I said ‘what?’, she said ‘do you have a tail?’. I asked her what she meant by ‘tail’.  She said it was because monkeys do have tails.” Female, aged 80+, Birmingham.

“Because of where we grew up, I saw how housing systems dealt with our family. Some families were automatically put at the bottoms of the list because they were from minority communities.” Male, 60-70, London

“The way they talked to you and cared for you as a pregnant Black woman was different, patronising, dismissive”

“I saw how my White friends were treated with patience and care, and I was just expected to ‘get on with it.”

The report contains ten main policy recommendations for the Government and other public bodies including the NHS, in response to the problems and issues identified by the research:

1. Tackle institutional racism through a national programme and targeted initiatives in the NHS and central Government. 
2. Improve ethnicity data collection so policymakers can address specific needs, including the intersection of age and race. 
3. Address ethnicity pensions and pay gaps and strengthen workplace protections against combined discrimination. 
4. Improve access to benefits through culturally appropriate, community-based support. 
5. Ensure fair housing by enforcing standards and providing advice for older people with mortgages. 
6. Develop culturally competent financial education for retirement and estate planning. 
7. Build trust in NHS services and target health screening information to Black Caribbean communities. 
8. Offer tailored mental health support that factors in both racial and age-related challenges. 
9. Fund community spaces and intergenerational programmes for older Black Caribbean people. 
10. Implement Windrush justice reforms including fairer compensation and pension inclusion. 

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Age UK said:  

“As our older population becomes increasingly diverse, at Age UK we want to ensure we are open to them and listen to their experiences.

“Many of the older Black Caribbean people interviewed for this report have seen the best and the worst of times. They have contributed massively to our society, brought up families and built communities, but it’s clear that in many cases they have also been impacted by racism, injustice and institutional discrimination, including the well-known Windrush Scandal.    

“The message in this report is clear and we must learn from it for the future. And as many in this community enter later life, we must ensure they receive the help and support they need and deserve.”   

 “Our vision at Age UK is that every older person is valued and included. This report shows that we still have some way to go before many older Black Caribbean people feel this is true for them. So, we all have work to do.”  

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: 

 “Our report shows that racism and discrimination have lifelong impacts – on health, income, housing, and wellbeing – and these inequalities don’t disappear in later life. In fact, if anything they intensify, especially when they combine with ageism to hold people back. 

“However, there are some highly practical measures that can be taken to make things better for older Black Caribbean people, such as ensuring services are culturally sensitive and carefully targeted where appropriate. Strategies like these don’t carry a big price tag, but they do require a change in attitude by policymakers, based on an understanding that the barriers many older Black Caribbean people face are horribly real and require effective, tailored responses if they are to be dismantled. And the same is often true for other minoritised communities too.

“To its credit, this Government is committed to rebuilding the trust lost by the disgraceful Windrush scandal, but that’s not enough. They should go further, look seriously at the recommendations in this report and make the kinds of changes needed to give older Black Caribbean people the equality to which they are entitled.”  

Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive, Action for Race Equality says:

"ARE welcomes AGE UK's pioneering report focusing on older Black Caribbean people, particularly highlighting the concept of 'weathering' - the accumulative impact of institutionalised racism, in areas such as employment, healthcare access and housing. 

The report’s recommendations reflect the reality of a lifetime of inequality. We strongly support the call for government to implement the recommendations from the recent Ethnicity Pay Gap consultation and to address the Ethnicity Pensions Gap - tackling disparities from working life through to retirement. 
 
We're pleased to see the emphasis on justice for Windrush survivors before it's too late, many of whom lose out on the compensation they deserve because of undue delays and inadequate legal support.  
 
We hope the intersectional approach to understanding the experience of older Black Caribbean people is applied to address the relentless inequalities this generation has faced - a generation that has given so much and, for too long, received too little in return."

Timi Okuwa, CEO, Black Equity Organisation (BEO) said:

“Black Equity Organisation (BEO) welcomes Age UK’s significant report - Ageing while Black: The experiences of Black Caribbean older people in England.

The first of its kind, the report examines how individuals of Black Caribbean heritage aged 50 and above experience older age in England. Its highlights how racism, discrimination, and inequity accumulate across their life course and combines with ageism to undermine health, financial security, and access to essential services.

We are proud to support Age UK’s effort in amplifying what ageing means for Black people. Our hope is that this report is a catalyst for change – tackling systemic inequalities, building culturally competent services, and ensuring older Black Caribbean people can age with dignity, security, and equity.”

ENDS 

Notes to Editors

[i] Age UK analysis of data drawn from wave 10 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

[ii] DWP, Households Below Average Income

[iii] Reference: Becares, L., Stopforth, S., Nazroo, J., & Kapadia, D. (2024, May 1). Ethnic inequalities in later life: Final report for the Nuffield Foundation. Accessed here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/270793426/Nuffield_report_part_1_SRS_clearance_final.pdf

[iv] ONS 2021 data for England and is based on Centre for Ageing Better Analysis, found here: Black History Month 2023 – Census data shines a new light on the Windrush generation | Centre for Ageing Better

[v] As above  - ONS 2021 data for England and is based on Centre for Ageing Better Analysis, found here: Black History Month 2023 – Census data shines a new light on the Windrush generation | Centre for Ageing Better