‘Many in younger generations are struggling to find secure, well-paid jobs and secure, affordable housing, while many in older generations risk not receiving the support they need because government after government has failed to plan for a long-term generational timescale.’
A new select committee report (pdf), launched April 2019, argues for addressing the issue of intergenerational unfairness. It looks at the inequalities and particular challenges of the generations, and gives recommendations for how to address these.
The report has six key findings:
- There should be a broad equivalence in lifetime contributions and receptions by successive generations.
- Government is not doing enough to address the major problem of insecure and unaffordable housing among young people.
- Younger people are disadvantaged by the current education and training system, which is ill-equipped to meet the needs of the labour market.
- Pay progression has slowed for younger generations, and their rights as workers are often diminished through insecure employment.
- Active communities have a key role to play in meeting these generational challenges.
- The tax and spending policies of successive governments have failed to pay sufficient regard to longer term policy consequences. Changes are necessary to both age-related benefits and the taxation system to address these issues.
