Digital Literacy – The over 50s may be better with IT than we think

The publication this month of the Government Digital Strategy (1) and this week’s House of Lords Communications Committee report, ‘Growing Up with the Internet’ (2), has placed digital literacy high on the agenda again. This is a vital life skill, essential for living and holding down a modern job. Given the rapid expansion of technology, and IT skills education in schools, it cannot be a surprise that there is an age profile in digital literacy. But when examined in detail, this data, and other evidence about the IT capabilities of the over 50s, suggest that the picture is much more...

The Budget 2017 – What’s in it for those in New Middle Age?

This was a low-key, pre-Brexit Budget, focused primarily on supporting families and improving the outlook for our young people. But there were also some interesting features for the 50 to retirement generation – both good and bad. New Middle Age takes a look. The main rate of Class 4 NICs for the self-employed will increase by 1% to 10%, with a further 1% increase in April 2019. This change will increase national insurance costs for self-employed people with profits of more than £16,250, and will raise an average of 60p per week per self-employed person. This measure risks discouraging people from...