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Towards a new vision for social care: policy solutions for an ageing population

23 September 2025

As part of the IFoA’s thought leadership collaboration with the International Longevity Centre (ILC), we have published ‘Towards a new vision for social care: policy solutions for an ageing population’. This paper was shaped following a roundtable discussion with social care experts over the summer, including representatives from our social care working party.

The UK has an ageing population, where nearly 25% of people will be aged 65 or older in 2040. At the same time that demand for social care is increasing, the number of people receiving publicly funded support has fallen. This means that millions of people are going without care, or are forced to rely on unpaid care, which now has an estimated economic contribution of £184 billion a year – almost the entire yearly NHS budget. 

The upcoming Casey review provides an opportunity to rethink policy in this space, and so this paper sets out bold options to reform social care, including:

  • Sustainable funding: Shift responsibility for social care funding to central government, ensuring consistency and easing pressure on local authorities.
  • Fair access for all: Standardise eligibility across age groups, expand community and home-based services, and enforce minimum national standards.
  • A stronger workforce: Professionalise care roles with clear pay scales, career pathways, and retention incentives, while recognising social care as a sector with acute skills shortages.
  • Support for unpaid carers: Deliver respite and flexible support services, introduce stronger financial protections including Carer’s Allowance reform, and create a National Carers Strategy.
  • Better integration and navigation: Build a central system to capture unmet need, improve coordination across health, social care and voluntary services, and establish a guidance body to help families navigate support.
  • Prevention first: Expand access to preventative interventions and help people plan for future care needs.

Read the paper on the ILC’s website