Study highlights inequalities for BAME over 50’s

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people aged 50-70 are more likely to be in the poorest fifth of the population in England compared with White people and Black people are living on an average of £100 less a week compared to White people, according to new research. 

The analysis by the Centre for Ageing Better, IPPR and UCL also shows that Black men and women in their 50s and 60s are more likely to be working – with White people in this age group three times more likely to have retired – suggesting people from these groups are more likely to be in low paid jobs and/or to have less access to other sources of income, such as pension savings and assets.

The research also found significant inequalities in housing. Nearly half of White people in their 50s and 60s own their home outright, compared to just 13% of their Black peers. People approaching later life from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are also more likely to live in deprived neighbourhoods, with nearly a third of Black and a quarter of Asian people living in the most deprived areas, compared to just 16% of the White population.

The Centre for Ageing Better says the inequalities uncovered by this research are particularly significant as older generations become more diverse: the proportion of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people aged 50-70 has doubled from 4% to 8% since the previous generation.

Paola Zaninotto from the Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care at UCL said: “An increasing number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people are now approaching later life and our results show that compared to White people they are facing challenges across a large number of areas in their life, putting them at risk of missing out on a good later life.”