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-Everything has an impact on your life. -Whatever your age. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
From the type of house we live in... | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
Oh, this looks nice. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:08 | |
Yes, it's been completely renovated throughout. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:11 | |
..to how much money we have to spend... | 0:00:11 | 0:00:14 | |
Your wage ends up being like a normal working wage, which is good. | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
What we put in our bodies... | 0:00:16 | 0:00:18 | |
I don't think I've ever been fat-fat, but I have put weight on. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:22 | |
..to the secrets of our genetic make-up. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
You are going to live to be 140. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:27 | |
That will do. I'll take everything I can get. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
So, finding out about all those things and more | 0:00:29 | 0:00:33 | |
could help you mature brilliantly. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:35 | |
Or slow down the ageing process just a little. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
We've tracked down the very best tips and advice | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
for holding back the years. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:44 | |
And now with the help of our team, | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
we are going to pass them on to you. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
To show you how to have the time of your life. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
Whenever that may be. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:52 | |
Hello, and welcome to the show that never grows old. | 0:00:57 | 0:00:59 | |
Well, we hope so anyway. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
Here's what's on today's show. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
Can you afford to retire now or in the future? | 0:01:04 | 0:01:08 | |
If the answer is "no" or "I don't know", | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
then you might want to pop into our pensions parlour | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
for some timely advice. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
I have a small pension from a company that I used to work for | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
but they've gone into liquidation | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
and I can't find the paperwork anywhere, so is that gone? | 0:01:20 | 0:01:23 | |
Well, losing trace of a pension is actually | 0:01:23 | 0:01:26 | |
quite a familiar problem these days, | 0:01:26 | 0:01:27 | |
but there are ways of tracing the pension. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
All this week Dr Chatterjee is making sense of your senses, | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
and today he looks at what happens when we lose our hearing | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
and what can be done about it. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
You may find that you're starting to turn the television up | 0:01:39 | 0:01:41 | |
a little bit louder. You are having to get people to repeat things. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
You may not feel that you've got a problem but you might start to think | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
people are mumbling, but it is worth getting it investigated | 0:01:47 | 0:01:50 | |
if you do experience it. | 0:01:50 | 0:01:52 | |
And with Britain facing a bungalow building crisis, | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
which is bad news for anyone for whom stairs are the enemy, | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
is plan B to build your own? | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
Ten years ago, when we started specialising, | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
I would suggest that the bungalow buyer's typical age would be 65-70. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:09 | |
Probably 50 now. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:10 | |
I think that people are recognising that there is going to be a shortage | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
and I think people are cottoning on that if they don't get it then, | 0:02:14 | 0:02:18 | |
they may not be available when they get to 65-70. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
Now, it's estimated that 15 million people are not saving for their | 0:02:25 | 0:02:29 | |
retirement. Are you one of them, perhaps? | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
I am. Do you even know what the different pension plans | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
available to you are, or what your state pension is worth? | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
So many questions, which is why, with a little help from a friend, | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
I headed out to Manchester to set up | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
the Holding Back The Years pensions parlour. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
We've come a long way since the idea of a pension was to line up | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
at the post office and collect your old age benefit. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
Today, if we are to afford the sort of retirement we want, | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
then it's up to us to make sure we know as much as we can. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:02 | |
But everyone can do with a little help. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
So today in Manchester, the country's first age-friendly city, | 0:03:05 | 0:03:09 | |
we are setting up a pensions parlour to do just that. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
Perfect. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:22 | |
And if we're going to get proper answers to people's questions | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
then we're going to need a proper expert. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
Michelle Cracknell is chief executive of the Pensions Advisory Service. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:37 | |
She's got one mission - to help people plan for their future. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:42 | |
-Hi, Michelle. -Hello. -How are you? -Morning. -Good to see you. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
Thanks for coming along. Tell me, then, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
what's the biggest issue facing people and their pensions today, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
-do you think? -Well, over the last 15-20 years, | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
there has been this big change from employers and the state | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
providing your retirement income to individuals | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
having to take personal responsibility. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:00 | |
So really the big thing for people at the moment | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
is to think that, "I need to think about what I need for my retirement." | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
A lot of people think, "Well, I'm going to get my state pension | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
"so that will be all right, won't it?" | 0:04:09 | 0:04:11 | |
Well, the state pension is £159 per week in today's money. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:15 | |
It certainly won't give the retirement | 0:04:15 | 0:04:17 | |
that most people aspire to do, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:18 | |
and that's why you need to do something in addition, | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
either through a private pension or through your workplace. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
Well, she certainly seems like the right person. | 0:04:25 | 0:04:27 | |
All we need now is to round up some people with questions to ask. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
And that's my job. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:31 | |
Roll up, roll up, bring me your pension questions. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:36 | |
Come on, then, come and see me. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:37 | |
Do you know what a pension is? Do you know how much your pension is? | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
Roll up and we'll tell you. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:41 | |
-You know what a pension is? -Yeah. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
-OK. Are you saving for a pension? -I am, yeah. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
Are you saving for a pension? | 0:04:45 | 0:04:47 | |
I'm not, personally, yet. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:49 | |
I had a work pension but I don't work any more | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
so I'm reliant on property to be my pension. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
Does that worry you at all? | 0:04:54 | 0:04:55 | |
Yes. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:57 | |
Do you know what a pension is? | 0:04:59 | 0:05:00 | |
-I certainly do. -Are you saving for a pension? | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
Not at the moment. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
-How about you? -I've had one for years | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
and I'm with a company pension. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
-You'll be all right then. -Why do you think we are together? | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
Because she's got the money! | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
New government rules state that after April 2018, | 0:05:13 | 0:05:16 | |
it's legally incumbent on all employers | 0:05:16 | 0:05:19 | |
to offer a suitable workplace pension for their staff. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:23 | |
It's called the National Employment Savings Trust, or Nest for short, | 0:05:23 | 0:05:27 | |
and that's exactly what 25-year-old Amy Mann is concerned about. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
What would you like to know from Michelle? | 0:05:31 | 0:05:33 | |
Just how Nest works and what happens when the money goes in and out? | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
The first time you'll be able to access the pension pot is aged 55, | 0:05:37 | 0:05:41 | |
so you've still got a long time to wait, but equally, | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
a long time for the money to build up. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
The workplace pension scheme is not the only type of pension scheme | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
that you are building up. You are also getting credits | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
towards the state pension in addition, | 0:05:52 | 0:05:54 | |
via the National Insurance that you are paying. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:56 | |
You will probably have more than this job | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
by the time you hit retirement, so if you do leave, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
remember that you keep in contact with the pension scheme | 0:06:01 | 0:06:05 | |
and always give them your contact details | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
so that they can keep sending you statements to say | 0:06:07 | 0:06:10 | |
how much you've got in your pension pot. | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
It's a great thing that at the age of 25 | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
that Amy is contributing to a pension scheme, though, isn't it? | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
She's got a long way to go. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:19 | |
That's right, definitely, a long way to go. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
The earlier you start, the easier it is to start building up a pot, | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
and whilst the contributions now are quite modest, obviously, | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
the closer you get to retirement, | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
the more you'll need to review how much | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
you are putting into the pension scheme and what level of retirement | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
income it's likely to provide for you at retirement. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
Along with the state pension from the government, | 0:06:38 | 0:06:40 | |
there are two types of workplace pension. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:42 | |
One is calculated by how much you or your employer puts in per month. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:47 | |
It's called a defined contribution pension. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
The other, based on your total salary and how long you've worked | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
somewhere, is a defined benefit pension. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
So what if you have both types? | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
Well, that's the issue facing training consultant | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
and former council employee Louise Goodman. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
So, this one is my most current pension, | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
so I'd like to know a little bit more about that. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
It's supposed to be a self-investment. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
And this one is my local authority one. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
What shall I do with it? Shall I leave it? | 0:07:11 | 0:07:13 | |
Let's start off with the oldest, | 0:07:13 | 0:07:15 | |
which is the local authority pension scheme. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:17 | |
Now, this type of pension scheme was based upon your salary | 0:07:17 | 0:07:21 | |
and so when you left, it was calculated, | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
the number of years you worked was a percentage of your salary | 0:07:24 | 0:07:28 | |
at the date of leaving, | 0:07:28 | 0:07:29 | |
and then that is revalued each year with inflation. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
Now, for most people, when they have one of these, | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
what is described as a defined benefit pension scheme, | 0:07:35 | 0:07:38 | |
you should leave it where it is. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
You have no investment risk and you've got a guaranteed income | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
at retirement, and the pension keeps pace with inflation. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
The latest one that you've taken out | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
is a self-invested personal pension plan. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:52 | |
You could, if you wanted to, have a look, | 0:07:52 | 0:07:54 | |
have a look on their website where there's a huge amount | 0:07:54 | 0:07:57 | |
of information, and choose different fund managers, | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
where you wanted to invest the money. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:02 | |
Nowadays, with many of us changing jobs throughout our lives, | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
it's not unusual for people to have more than one pension, like Louise. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:10 | |
Louise has got seven different pensions. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
That's a lot to keep your eye on. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:14 | |
Is there any mileage in trying to combine them | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
-into fewer than that? -Well, there could be. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
For most people, they should keep defined benefit pensions | 0:08:20 | 0:08:23 | |
with their employers. With the defined contribution pots, | 0:08:23 | 0:08:27 | |
it is worth having a look at where they're invested | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
and what charges that you're paying. | 0:08:30 | 0:08:32 | |
And also there's an administrative point | 0:08:32 | 0:08:35 | |
that if you've got a very small pot, | 0:08:35 | 0:08:37 | |
-and in fact, one of yours is very, very small... -It's tiny. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
..for administrative convenience, you may say, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
"Actually, I'd like to pop that into one of the other pots." | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
So, remember, if you're thinking about bringing your pension plans | 0:08:45 | 0:08:49 | |
together, it's important to know what you would be giving up. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
Not all plans are the same | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
and it's worth asking your pension providers to give you | 0:08:54 | 0:08:57 | |
an up-to-date statement and the latest copy | 0:08:57 | 0:08:59 | |
of your scheme's terms and conditions. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
Of course, not everyone goes down the pension route. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
Some people choose other investment opportunities, like Julia Frost, | 0:09:06 | 0:09:10 | |
a self-employed puppeteer who wants to use property she owns | 0:09:10 | 0:09:14 | |
for her retirement. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:15 | |
I don't know whether it's better to keep them rented | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
so that I have sort of an income every month coming in | 0:09:18 | 0:09:21 | |
from the rental of those properties, | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
or whether I would be better off selling them both, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:25 | |
having a lump sum and then, I don't know, investing it, or... | 0:09:25 | 0:09:29 | |
Having properties is obviously one source | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
of getting a retirement income. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
I think some of the things to think about is that with properties, | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
as you're probably very aware, | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
is there's quite a bit of management and, obviously, | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
there could be times when they can't be rented out, | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
so having all of your retirement income coming off | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
the back of properties is probably risky and you should think about | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
having something in pensions as well. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
Investing solely in property for her future means Julia is missing out | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
on the tax relief a pension provides, | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
and in the years in which you earn more, | 0:09:57 | 0:10:00 | |
you should be adding more, too. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:02 | |
If you want more out, you have to put more in. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
When you do have a very good year and you're paying tax, | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
possible higher rate tax, | 0:10:07 | 0:10:09 | |
they are the years to make the pension contribution | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
because every pension contribution | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
does get full tax relief, | 0:10:14 | 0:10:15 | |
so it's a very, very efficient way of saving. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:19 | |
-Right. I didn't know that. -Time your contributions to the years | 0:10:19 | 0:10:22 | |
when you're incredibly busy | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
and make sure that you can actually bring down your tax rate. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
And Julia has just one more question | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
that a lot of us might be familiar with. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:31 | |
I have a small pension from a company that I used to work for | 0:10:31 | 0:10:34 | |
but they've gone into liquidation | 0:10:34 | 0:10:36 | |
and I can't find the paperwork anywhere, so is that gone? | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
Well, losing trace of a pension is actually quite a familiar problem | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
these days, but there are ways of tracing the pension. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
In fact, if you go on to gov.uk, | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
the government runs a pension tracing service. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
You write in the employer that you use to work for | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
and they will tell you what happened to that pension scheme, | 0:10:54 | 0:10:57 | |
so whilst the company may have gone bust, | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
the pension scheme is actually separate from the company | 0:10:59 | 0:11:03 | |
so it should still be somewhere | 0:11:03 | 0:11:05 | |
and be managed by a pensions administrator. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:07 | |
There must be loads of pension money | 0:11:07 | 0:11:09 | |
which is sort of sitting there unclaimed | 0:11:09 | 0:11:12 | |
because people have forgotten about it or lost the paperwork. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
-How much is there? -There is millions, | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
and so one of the things we recommend is | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
actually go back and think about, | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
these are all the places I've worked | 0:11:21 | 0:11:23 | |
and have I got a pension scheme to match all of those places? | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
And the good thing about being a puppeteer | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
is you don't have to put in pension contributions for your employees. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
Yes, well, that's true! | 0:11:32 | 0:11:34 | |
So, a busy day in Manchester but we weren't finished there. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:38 | |
Come on, then! | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
Coming up later in the show | 0:11:40 | 0:11:41 | |
I get out on the prowl for more pension punters. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
Tell me what you're worried about and see if we can sort you out. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
And Michelle tackles even more questions. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
I do have a partner. I'm just wondering if she would be able | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
to claim if anything occurred to me. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
This week, Dr Rangan Chatterjee is making sense of your senses, | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
giving top tips on what to expect as we get older and how to fix it. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
So today he is tackling the subject of hearing loss, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:08 | |
which will affect four in ten of us over the age of 50. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
So, listen closely. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:13 | |
Most of us will experience a notable loss | 0:12:13 | 0:12:16 | |
in one of our senses after the age of 40. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
That's eyesight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and balance. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:25 | |
But if you know what to look out for and how to get it tested, | 0:12:25 | 0:12:29 | |
then treatment is available, | 0:12:29 | 0:12:31 | |
not to mention top tips for preventing it in the first place. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
I'm Dr Chatterjee and all this week I will be helping you | 0:12:34 | 0:12:39 | |
make sense of it all. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
Today, I'm trying to keep an ear out for your hearing. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
Around 40% of people over the age of 50 in the UK | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
have some form of hearing loss. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:51 | |
It's incredibly frustrating for those who experience it. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
Particularly in noisy situations like this bar here in Manchester, | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
where things can sound more like this... | 0:13:02 | 0:13:04 | |
MUFFLED SOUNDS | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
It's a condition that can lead to social isolation and even depression. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
Not to mention the dangers of not being able to hear warnings, alarms, | 0:13:11 | 0:13:16 | |
or even last orders. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:17 | |
So, what can be done to test and tweak hearing loss? | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
I've come to Manchester Royal Infirmary | 0:13:22 | 0:13:24 | |
to speak to Danny Kearney, senior audiologist. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
So, Danny, what happens to our hearing as we get older? | 0:13:26 | 0:13:30 | |
As we get older, we lose sensitivity from the nerve fibres | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
in the inner part of our ear. | 0:13:33 | 0:13:35 | |
And we're born with a set number | 0:13:35 | 0:13:37 | |
and they have to last our entire lifetime. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
But they don't heal or regrow, and as we get older, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
as we listen to more sound, they become damaged, | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
they become stiff, and so aren't then as effective | 0:13:44 | 0:13:48 | |
at transferring the sound energy into the signals | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
that we need to hear the sounds. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
What do people first notice when their hearing starts to go? | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
Initially, it may be other people that notice that difficulty, | 0:13:58 | 0:14:02 | |
but you may find that you're starting to turn the television up | 0:14:02 | 0:14:05 | |
a little bit louder, you're having to get people to repeat things. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
You may not feel that you've got a problem but you might start | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
to think that people are mumbling | 0:14:11 | 0:14:13 | |
and they don't speak as clearly as they used to. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
Of course, some people's hair cells might deteriorate more quickly than others. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:22 | |
Maybe due to family history, infection or disease. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:27 | |
Or maybe you suffered damage by exposure | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
to loud noises in work or at play | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
which, given my love of rock music, is something that could apply to me. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
But hearing loss isn't always how this damage manifests itself. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
Sometimes it presents itself in a condition known as tinnitus. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:48 | |
So, Danny, many people complain of tinnitus. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
What exactly is it? | 0:14:51 | 0:14:53 | |
Tinnitus is noises that we hear within the ears. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:56 | |
People often describe it as a ringing or buzzing sounds. | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
Tinnitus itself, the noises and sound that we hear, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
that in itself doesn't cause hearing loss? | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
No, it's more of a consequence of perhaps changes | 0:15:07 | 0:15:10 | |
in the inner part of the ear, but it is worth | 0:15:10 | 0:15:12 | |
getting it investigated if you do experience it. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
If you notice any of these problems, | 0:15:16 | 0:15:18 | |
the first step is to talk to a GP like myself | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
about how these problems are affecting your day-to-day life. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
Some basic tests will clarify whether the problem | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
is being caused by something temporary or treatable, | 0:15:27 | 0:15:31 | |
such as a build-up of ear wax or an infection. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
If there's no obvious cause we'll then refer you | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
for a hearing assessment with an audiologist | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
who will test to see how well you can detect | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
different levels of sound. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:43 | |
This assessment will help find the cause of your hearing loss | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
and what treatments would work best. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
-So, I'll play you a series of tones. -Sure. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:51 | |
And whenever you hear a tone, I'd like you to press a button. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:54 | |
Today I'm sitting in on one of these tests | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
with 71-year-old Michael Brundrett, | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
who has been experiencing some hearing issues lately. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:02 | |
Next, to offer what we call the control in our experiment, | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
it was my turn. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:09 | |
OK, gentlemen, so I have the results here. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
Michael, we've got the red line here for your right ear | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
and the blue line for your left ear there. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:22 | |
For the low pitches, your hearing is within that normal range there. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:27 | |
It is also good for the right ear | 0:16:27 | 0:16:28 | |
but we are having to make it slightly louder. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
It's then, as we get into the high pitches, | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
we are having to turn the level of the sound up to a moderate level, | 0:16:33 | 0:16:37 | |
and it's more of a, possibly even getting into profound level, | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
on the right ear. Were you aware that the right ear | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
was worse than the left ear? | 0:16:43 | 0:16:44 | |
Oh, definitely, because you instinctively | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
turn your best ear to the sound. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:49 | |
Now, on to you, Rangan. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:50 | |
What it's showing is that you've got very good hearing | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
for the low and the mid-pitch sounds. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
As we get to 4,000 hertz, so that squeaky, shrill pitch, | 0:16:56 | 0:17:00 | |
we are having to make those sounds a little bit louder | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
so it's broadly within the normal range | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
but there are a couple of pitches there | 0:17:05 | 0:17:07 | |
that's a bit more on the borderline. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:09 | |
That tends to be a bit more common | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
where there's been sort of noise exposure. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
So perhaps in your, you know, the band, sort of playing music, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:18 | |
going to gigs, it can cause more damage | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
to the nerve fibres in that area. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
Yeah, a little bit shocked to have a small area of hearing loss there. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:29 | |
And I wonder whether going to all those gigs and playing in bands | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
when I was in my 20s has actually had an impact. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
Which is still a little bit of a lesson for all of us. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
Whilst the changes in my hearing may be minimal, | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
I want to find out what it's like to live day-to-day | 0:17:41 | 0:17:44 | |
with significant hearing loss, | 0:17:44 | 0:17:46 | |
so I'm meeting Tim Jones, | 0:17:46 | 0:17:48 | |
who has suffered from the condition for many years. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
If you can't hear something, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
your face seems as though you're being indifferent, | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
and then if you don't have a proper diagnosis, | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
you believe the evidence the other people are giving you. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:02 | |
You believe that you're stupid, you believe that you can't do things. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:06 | |
Any kind of hearing loss makes you introverted, | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
makes you go inside yourself, makes you scared to go to parties, | 0:18:08 | 0:18:12 | |
go to pubs, so you stay in and spend a lot of time by yourself. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:16 | |
The solution for Tim, like 1.5 million other people in the UK, | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
is to get a hearing aid. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
But it might not be the type you're thinking of, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:24 | |
because hearing aids have come a long way | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
since the days that they looked like this, | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
and they sounded even worse than they looked, | 0:18:28 | 0:18:30 | |
often amplifying everything, including background noise. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
Today, Tim uses a revolutionary cochlear implant. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
Cochlear implants work by taking audio signals | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
straight into the inner ear, | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
and Tim's now showing me how it works for him. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
This fits onto a screw that's inside of my head. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
This vibrates and the vibrations miss out the bad part of my ear | 0:18:51 | 0:18:55 | |
and go straight into the part that works OK. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
Wow. So the conventional hearing aid goes inside your ear | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
and you've got something that bypasses the inside of your ear | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
but gives you a very similar effect. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:06 | |
Yeah, so this is air conduction through the ear, | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
this is bone conduction through your bone. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:11 | |
It's been a life-changing bit of tech for Tim | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
and it even comes with some added bonus gadgets. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
This is the most useful piece of equipment. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
It's a remote microphone, | 0:19:22 | 0:19:24 | |
which means I can go and have coffee with any friend in any environment, | 0:19:24 | 0:19:27 | |
they place it just like that there | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
and I can hear them, wherever they are. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
This one is a TV streamer. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
The biggest sources of domestic strife was the volume | 0:19:33 | 0:19:37 | |
I had on the television. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:38 | |
This means I can listen at my volume into my Bahas wherever I want | 0:19:38 | 0:19:43 | |
and Lynne can adjust the volume according to her. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:47 | |
There is only one problem - she gets the remote. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:49 | |
OK, so let's head back to the bar | 0:19:50 | 0:19:53 | |
where I'm going to test the tech for myself. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:57 | |
First up, I simulate significant hearing loss. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
OK, how does that sound for you? | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
Yeah, I can hardly hear that. I just can't hear you | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
and it makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:11 | |
Next I put on a simulator to see just what Tim experiences | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
when he uses his new hearing device. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
Two, three, four. How are you? How are you? | 0:20:17 | 0:20:19 | |
Oh, yeah, I can hear you. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:20 | |
Yes, and it cuts out all the background noise as well. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:23 | |
But there's something else the implant lets Tim do. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:26 | |
Raise your hand if you can hear me. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
Now raise your right hand. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
Brilliant. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
He can hear people up to 30 metres away. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
-That's amazing. -If you want to go and order me a drink, | 0:20:36 | 0:20:38 | |
I can tell you what I want. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
Tim, a seriously impressive bit of kit. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
I can see how this has revolutionised your life. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
What would you say to people who are suffering with hearing problems? | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
I would say lose the fear. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:49 | |
I would say find out as much as you can about your hearing loss, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
go to the professionals, ask their advice, | 0:20:53 | 0:20:55 | |
stay within the National Health Service. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
It was wonderful to see how technology | 0:20:58 | 0:21:00 | |
has revolutionised Tim's life. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:03 | |
That was really interesting | 0:21:03 | 0:21:04 | |
but they do say that prevention is better than cure, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
so I wonder what tips Dr Danny Kearney can give me. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:10 | |
I would say tip one would be if you start to notice | 0:21:10 | 0:21:12 | |
any difficulties with your hearing, | 0:21:12 | 0:21:14 | |
if people are commenting that you are having the TV louder | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
than normal or you are mishearing things then do go to your GP. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:22 | |
Tip two would be if you are doing noisy activities, | 0:21:22 | 0:21:26 | |
invest in some ear protection. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:28 | |
Over-the-ear ear defenders | 0:21:28 | 0:21:30 | |
or moulded earpieces with different filters. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
Tip three, the ear itself is sort of self-cleaning | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
so the best thing to do if you do produce a lot of wax | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
is to maybe use some olive oil drops | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
to help keep the wax nice and soft and moving out of the ear canal. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
Time now for our daily clip-based quiz. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
Yep, all you have to do is watch the following | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
and work out when it all happened. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
And it's a very simple question - what was the year that was? | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
So here's how the game works. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:02 | |
We're going to give you a few key events | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
that all happened in the space of a year. But which year? | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
And here's why you should play along, by the way. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:11 | |
Psychologists have said that nostalgia | 0:22:11 | 0:22:14 | |
can promote a sense of wellbeing and vitality in us all, | 0:22:14 | 0:22:18 | |
so this really could help you hold back the years. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:23 | |
# Been around the world and I, I, I | 0:22:23 | 0:22:25 | |
# I can't find my baby | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
# I don't know when, I don't know why | 0:22:27 | 0:22:29 | |
# Why he's gone away | 0:22:29 | 0:22:31 | |
# And I don't know where he can be, my baby... # | 0:22:31 | 0:22:36 | |
From my point of view, I'm at the centre of the web. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:40 | |
In theory, I can pull in information from any other point | 0:22:40 | 0:22:44 | |
at the speed of light. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:46 | |
# Something's gotten hold of my heart | 0:22:46 | 0:22:48 | |
# Keeping my soul and my senses apart... # | 0:22:48 | 0:22:53 | |
Researchers use the net to post their discoveries - | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
the structure of a protein, the sequence of a human gene - | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
almost as soon as they are made. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:02 | |
But the quantity of data is doubling every 18 months. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
-You know where we are. -Yeah. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:10 | |
Be lucky. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:11 | |
# And if dreams were wings, you know | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
# I would have flown to you | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
# To be where you are | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
# No matter how far | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
# And now that I'm next to you | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
# No more dreaming about tomorrow | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
# Forget the loneliness and the sorrow | 0:23:30 | 0:23:34 | |
# I've got to say it's all because of you | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
# And now we're back together, together | 0:23:38 | 0:23:44 | |
# I want to show you my heart is oh so true | 0:23:44 | 0:23:50 | |
# And all the love I have is especially for you... # | 0:23:50 | 0:23:58 | |
And we'll reveal the answer to that at the end of the show. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
Staying independent is always top of any list | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
when it comes to holding back the years, | 0:24:08 | 0:24:10 | |
whether it's for our grandparents, parents or even just ourselves. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
Where we live has a massive impact on that. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:18 | |
In particular, the ability to get in and out of your own house | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
or up and down the stairs. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:23 | |
The answer should be bungalows, of course, | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
but we are facing a national shortage. | 0:24:26 | 0:24:28 | |
So, what is the plan B? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:31 | |
Fiona has been exploring the options. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:33 | |
Once you get to a certain age, so they tell me, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
steps can become a real problem. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:41 | |
Whereas once you used to bound up them two steps at a time, | 0:24:41 | 0:24:46 | |
they start to become more akin to climbing Everest. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
And yet, many older people simply don't have an option. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:53 | |
Statistics suggest that up to a third of us | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
could be living in unsuitable houses for our age. | 0:24:56 | 0:25:00 | |
For people like May Evans, it can be akin to being imprisoned. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
She has lived in this housing association flat for four years. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
-Hey, May! I'm Fiona. Hello. -Pleased to meet you. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
-Lovely to meet you, too. -Yes. Would you like to come in? | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
I would love to come in. Thank you very much. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:18 | |
Thank you. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:20 | |
So you come in through the main entrance | 0:25:20 | 0:25:21 | |
and straight ahead of you you've got stairs to contend with. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
-Yes. -How's that? | 0:25:24 | 0:25:25 | |
Two and a half years ago I was ill with a pulmonary embolism | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
and pneumonia, so when I came home from the hospital, | 0:25:30 | 0:25:34 | |
I found that the stairs were really a problem. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
It's very difficult to breathe when you have pneumonia | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
and an embolism and, of course, going upstairs | 0:25:39 | 0:25:44 | |
was a big problem. | 0:25:44 | 0:25:45 | |
I stood at the bottom of the stairs and I thought, | 0:25:45 | 0:25:47 | |
"Will I actually make it to the top?" | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
-Yeah, I can imagine. -So, because I didn't get out so much | 0:25:50 | 0:25:53 | |
I was getting really bored and frustrated. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:56 | |
But I think if I was older and I couldn't hardly get out at all | 0:25:57 | 0:26:02 | |
then if all I had was the TV for company, | 0:26:02 | 0:26:06 | |
I would be most unhappy and probably very lonely. | 0:26:06 | 0:26:08 | |
In the old days, of course, | 0:26:12 | 0:26:13 | |
the answer would have been for someone like May to be rehoused | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
in a single-storey bungalow, but times have changed. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
In 1980, one in six new builds were bungalows. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
Today it's less than one in 60. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
Here in Swindon, there is one person who is devoted to fighting the cause | 0:26:28 | 0:26:32 | |
for bungalows - Sue Leeburn. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:35 | |
She is the manager of Only Bungalows, | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
the only estate agent in the UK | 0:26:38 | 0:26:40 | |
which deals exclusively in bungalow sales. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:43 | |
Today, she is showing me around a prime example in nearby Rowton. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:48 | |
Oh, this looks nice. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:53 | |
Yes, it's been completely renovated throughout. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:56 | |
It's a 1960s bungalow, typical of the area. | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
Three-bedroom semi. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
But the attraction with the three-bed, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
sometimes you don't want three places to sleep | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
but they'd rather have a dining room that's separate to the sitting room. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
So how is business in the bungalow world? | 0:27:10 | 0:27:14 | |
Very, very good. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
We literally, every time we put a bungalow on, | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
we'll find a buyer for it. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:20 | |
In fact, often more than one buyer. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:22 | |
We've got huge demand and the supply, | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
they just don't build them any longer. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:27 | |
And Sue has also seen another growing trend | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
that's increasingly placing these properties | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
out of reach for many older people. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
Ten years ago when we started specialising, | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
I would suggest that the bungalow buyer's typical age would be 65-70. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
Probably 50 now. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:45 | |
I think people are recognising that there is going to be a shortage | 0:27:45 | 0:27:49 | |
but I think people are cottoning on that if they don't get it then, | 0:27:49 | 0:27:53 | |
they may not be available when they get to 65-70. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
Statistical analysis found that shortages in bungalow housing stock | 0:27:56 | 0:28:00 | |
and high demand from Britain's 11 million over-65s | 0:28:00 | 0:28:04 | |
are affecting prices, with the average bungalow | 0:28:04 | 0:28:08 | |
commanding an asking price 16% higher | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
than a traditional house. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
So, the crunch question - how much do bungalows cost? | 0:28:14 | 0:28:19 | |
This is a three-bedroom bungalow. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:21 | |
How much would this cost? | 0:28:21 | 0:28:23 | |
This is on the market at £240,000, but it will get that level of price. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
So why aren't more being built? | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
I think it's a land issue, to be honest with you. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:32 | |
Builders have learned over the decades | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
that if you've got a piece of land, the more you can get onto it, | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
the greater your profit margin is going to be. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
Which, unfortunately, is bad news for May, | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
who'd loved a single-storey place of her own, | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
and who, until recently, spent most of her life living in bungalows. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:51 | |
The first bungalow I lived in, I moved to when I was three years old. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:56 | |
It was one that was built either during the war or just after. | 0:28:56 | 0:28:59 | |
And I actually bought one of my own. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:03 | |
That was a two-bed semidetached. | 0:29:03 | 0:29:06 | |
Quite nice. I did it up fairly well. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
I spent quite a bit of money on it. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:11 | |
But then I decided that I would really like to live in the country, | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
so I sold it and I went to live on a farm. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:20 | |
So you missed your bungalow? The space, it all being on one level... | 0:29:20 | 0:29:24 | |
I absolutely missed it. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:25 | |
It was so versatile. | 0:29:25 | 0:29:27 | |
So, May, if someone said to you you can swap your lovely flat here | 0:29:27 | 0:29:32 | |
for a bungalow, what would you say? | 0:29:32 | 0:29:34 | |
Yes, please! | 0:29:34 | 0:29:36 | |
Unfortunately, currently in the UK 26% of new housing | 0:29:36 | 0:29:41 | |
is in the form of flats, while bungalows make up just 2%. | 0:29:41 | 0:29:45 | |
Have you ever tried to rent one? | 0:29:45 | 0:29:47 | |
No. I mean, I find they are very expensive to rent privately. | 0:29:47 | 0:29:52 | |
There are very few bungalows around with the council | 0:29:53 | 0:29:56 | |
and I have been told that to get a bungalow | 0:29:56 | 0:29:58 | |
you have to have a disability of some sort, | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
otherwise it's a flat. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:01 | |
Well, there's no denying there's massive demand | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
for more bungalows to be built. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
The trouble is people who have got bungalows are staying in them longer | 0:30:08 | 0:30:12 | |
and developers aren't building bungalows because they don't make | 0:30:12 | 0:30:15 | |
enough profit from them, so is there a solution? | 0:30:15 | 0:30:19 | |
I'm meeting architect Neil Turner | 0:30:21 | 0:30:23 | |
here at the national Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon | 0:30:23 | 0:30:27 | |
to find out more. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:28 | |
First up, what's his take on the great British bungalow? | 0:30:28 | 0:30:31 | |
So, Neil, the bungalow. | 0:30:33 | 0:30:35 | |
Is it a design classic, do you think? | 0:30:35 | 0:30:38 | |
Yes, I think they are and I think they are much underrated | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
and maligned, and I think it's about time that we started bringing them | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
forward into the 21st century, | 0:30:43 | 0:30:45 | |
as a real housing solution for modern day living. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:48 | |
And part of this problem is because developers want | 0:30:48 | 0:30:52 | |
to bring them high, and so that they earn more money | 0:30:52 | 0:30:55 | |
from multiples of flats, rather than... | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
The more they build, the more they can max out their profit. | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
So what do we do about that? That's not going to go away, is it? | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
No, it's not, and I understand the economic argument of that, | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
and therefore a sensible mix when they get in | 0:31:05 | 0:31:08 | |
their planning permissions, | 0:31:08 | 0:31:09 | |
where they are sort of encouraged to put more of that mix | 0:31:09 | 0:31:12 | |
of accommodation and to make a more successful... | 0:31:12 | 0:31:14 | |
-Proper community. -Exactly. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:16 | |
And that can be done through planning law. | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
And yet there could be an old solution | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
to this very contemporary problem - prefabs. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
We relied on them after the war, and over the last decade | 0:31:24 | 0:31:28 | |
the idea of prebuilt kit homes that you put up | 0:31:28 | 0:31:30 | |
where and when you can has increasingly been seen | 0:31:30 | 0:31:33 | |
as a modern solution in places like Sweden. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:36 | |
So could it be about to come here next? | 0:31:36 | 0:31:40 | |
What is a prefab? | 0:31:40 | 0:31:41 | |
What exactly is it? | 0:31:41 | 0:31:43 | |
Can you get different types? | 0:31:43 | 0:31:44 | |
Yeah, to try and define what prefab is, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
in essence, it's the elements of that built in a factory | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
rather than constructed on the site. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:51 | |
But is it ultimately the solution? | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
If we can make more efficient, better built, | 0:31:53 | 0:31:57 | |
smaller single-storey homes, I think it's part of a solution. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:01 | |
Well, it certainly seems ingenious - in theory, at least. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
But I want to see what someone like May thinks, | 0:32:05 | 0:32:09 | |
and to help us we've asked advisor Neil Davey to run us through | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
what's available in kit form. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:15 | |
-So, May, you want to get out of that flat. -Yeah. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
Have you ever thought about maybe building your own bungalow? | 0:32:18 | 0:32:22 | |
I would love to, if I could afford it. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
So, how can she afford it, Neil? | 0:32:24 | 0:32:28 | |
There are different build routes you can go through | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
which actually save you money. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
Flatpack homes, houses that are made in factories, | 0:32:32 | 0:32:34 | |
should become cheaper. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:36 | |
And the more we do self build, that industry will grow, | 0:32:36 | 0:32:41 | |
and that will bring the price down. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
So, how much would it cost May to buy a prefabricated bungalow? | 0:32:43 | 0:32:47 | |
What sort of a bungalow are you looking for? | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
-How many bedrooms? -Only two bedrooms. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:52 | |
At 75 square metres, you're looking at about £135,000. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:57 | |
Still not cheap. | 0:32:58 | 0:32:59 | |
However, at around half the price of the bungalow we saw earlier, | 0:32:59 | 0:33:03 | |
definitely an improvement. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:05 | |
But while the flatpack house may be affordable, | 0:33:05 | 0:33:08 | |
the land it sits on is another question altogether. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:12 | |
With plots ranging from 50,000 to several millions, | 0:33:12 | 0:33:16 | |
it begs the question of how can our ageing population, | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
who are interested in having a bungalow built for them, | 0:33:20 | 0:33:22 | |
ever afford the land? | 0:33:22 | 0:33:24 | |
There might just be a solution on the horizon. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:26 | |
The Right To Build act came out last year | 0:33:30 | 0:33:32 | |
and councils are now under an obligation to provide land for self builders. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:38 | |
So when they open up their boundaries for housing, | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
they've got to think about so many plots for self builders. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
-OK. -That sounds a good idea, | 0:33:44 | 0:33:46 | |
but providing they keep these plots at a good price, | 0:33:46 | 0:33:49 | |
a reasonable price, for people like you who want to do a self build. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
Are they duty-bound to do that? | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
They are. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:57 | |
Well, we spend a huge part of our lives in our homes, | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
so the kind of home you are in can have a huge impact | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
on your quality of life. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:07 | |
Perhaps that's why so many of you are saying, bring back the bungalow. | 0:34:07 | 0:34:13 | |
OK, time now to return to Manchester, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:18 | |
where, with the help of one of the country's leading pensions experts, | 0:34:18 | 0:34:22 | |
Bill has been offering advice to those who need it now | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
or in the future. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:28 | |
We are in Manchester | 0:34:28 | 0:34:30 | |
and for one day only we've set up our mobile pensions parlour... | 0:34:30 | 0:34:34 | |
Hello. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:37 | |
..where we're inviting people in for tea, biscuits | 0:34:37 | 0:34:40 | |
and free financial advice. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:41 | |
So, we're talking about pensions. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
Do you know what a pension is? | 0:34:43 | 0:34:44 | |
I'm rounding them up... | 0:34:44 | 0:34:46 | |
Roll up, roll up for your pension questions. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
..and our expert Michelle Cracknell is giving them advice. | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
So, Michelle, how is it going so far, do you think? | 0:34:51 | 0:34:54 | |
Well, we've had a great set of questions from people, | 0:34:54 | 0:34:57 | |
and we often find people quite reluctant | 0:34:57 | 0:34:59 | |
to talk about pensions because they think it's very confusing | 0:34:59 | 0:35:02 | |
and very complicated, but really, when people come to us, | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
all we're asking them to do is tell us about | 0:35:06 | 0:35:08 | |
their personal situation and we'll do the complicated bit | 0:35:08 | 0:35:11 | |
about thinking what implications that has on their pension. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:15 | |
What would you like more of? | 0:35:15 | 0:35:16 | |
I'd like to have more people asking questions, | 0:35:16 | 0:35:19 | |
just specifically more young people understanding how | 0:35:19 | 0:35:22 | |
they can think about their pension more | 0:35:22 | 0:35:24 | |
and where to go to get help. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:26 | |
We'll see what we can do for you. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:29 | |
Roll up, roll up, ask your pension questions here. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:33 | |
All the answers, free of charge. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:35 | |
That's the way to do it. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:36 | |
Come on, then. Pension questions for Holding Back The Years. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
Come and see me. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:43 | |
And soon we were under way. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:44 | |
First onto our comfy sofa was Brandon, a 21-year-old student. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:49 | |
-So, look, have a biscuit. -I'll take a biscuit. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
Brandon is about to enter the workplace for the first time. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:54 | |
Well, Michelle said she did want them young. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:57 | |
I would imagine you probably haven't done much about a pension. | 0:35:57 | 0:35:59 | |
-Not just yet. -OK, what's your question for Michelle? | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
Obviously, at the moment it's not really my biggest forethought | 0:36:02 | 0:36:05 | |
but it's having the plans in preparation for that | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
as an actor and self-employed, so how would I go about that, I guess? | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
Well, it's a great question because obviously the sooner you start | 0:36:10 | 0:36:13 | |
thinking about pensions, the easier it is to save. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:16 | |
As a self-employed person, obviously, | 0:36:16 | 0:36:18 | |
it's all down to you and managing your money, | 0:36:18 | 0:36:21 | |
and whilst I wouldn't advocate at your young age | 0:36:21 | 0:36:23 | |
that you should be investing all of that into a pension, | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
because of course pensions are locked away | 0:36:26 | 0:36:28 | |
and you can't access them to at least age 55, | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
at least putting it away into some savings, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
then you are starting to think about putting that money aside | 0:36:34 | 0:36:37 | |
and as and when the time comes, | 0:36:37 | 0:36:39 | |
you could start popping that into a pension as well. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:43 | |
There are about 4.5 million people in the UK who are self-employed | 0:36:43 | 0:36:47 | |
and this number is rising. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
And yet the total of self-employed people saving into a pension | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
has halved. If you're self-employed, | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
you won't have an employer adding money to your pension | 0:36:56 | 0:36:58 | |
but there are still some tax breaks you shouldn't miss out on. | 0:36:58 | 0:37:02 | |
You'll get tax relief on your pension contributions, | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
usually up to £40,000 a year. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:08 | |
And this means if you're a basic rate taxpayer, | 0:37:08 | 0:37:11 | |
for every £100 you pay into your pension, | 0:37:11 | 0:37:14 | |
the government will add an extra £25. | 0:37:14 | 0:37:16 | |
But how much should Brandon put away? | 0:37:16 | 0:37:19 | |
Michelle, over to you. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:21 | |
One of the rules of thumbs in pensions | 0:37:21 | 0:37:23 | |
is when you start your pension scheme, | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
you should put in half your age. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
So, for example if you start your pension at age 22, | 0:37:28 | 0:37:32 | |
you should be putting in 11% of your salary into a pension scheme. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:35 | |
I know that is a big scary number, and again, | 0:37:35 | 0:37:38 | |
we would say to people, what can you afford, | 0:37:38 | 0:37:40 | |
and get into the habit of putting something away. | 0:37:40 | 0:37:43 | |
And after that, they just kept on coming. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
Amanda is a 52-year-old stay-at-home mother. | 0:37:46 | 0:37:49 | |
Having recently separated, however, | 0:37:49 | 0:37:51 | |
she has gone back to work and enrolled in a workplace pension | 0:37:51 | 0:37:54 | |
to make some provisions for her future | 0:37:54 | 0:37:56 | |
but there may be options she hasn't thought of. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
You might also have a state pension entitlement, | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
because whilst you haven't been working, | 0:38:02 | 0:38:04 | |
whilst you were having your children and receiving child allowance, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:08 | |
you would have been getting National Insurance credits | 0:38:08 | 0:38:11 | |
toward a state pension. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:13 | |
So something else just to check up. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:15 | |
Go onto the gov.uk website and ask for a state pension forecast. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
If you don't have the full state pension entitlement, | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
it could be that you could use some of your savings | 0:38:23 | 0:38:26 | |
to actually buy voluntary National Insurance contributions | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
to build that up as well. | 0:38:29 | 0:38:30 | |
It is an issue, though, for people like Amanda, | 0:38:30 | 0:38:33 | |
if they have been stay-at-home mums all these years, | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
bringing up their kids and then they separate, | 0:38:36 | 0:38:39 | |
that is a challenge for you, isn't it? | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
Of course, yeah. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:43 | |
If you did go for a break, a divorce and get a financial settlement, | 0:38:43 | 0:38:47 | |
then your husband would be required to declare his pensions | 0:38:47 | 0:38:51 | |
and you would have a share of that. | 0:38:51 | 0:38:53 | |
However, you know, it's suddenly very intimidating | 0:38:53 | 0:38:56 | |
because you do still need to manage that money | 0:38:56 | 0:38:58 | |
and convert whatever sum you might get as part | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
of a financial settlement into retirement income. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:04 | |
So certainly things to think about. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:06 | |
Thank you. Thank you for your advice. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:08 | |
Thanks very much. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:10 | |
Sometimes, of course, it's not your life situation that changes | 0:39:10 | 0:39:14 | |
but your pension itself. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:15 | |
That's the dilemma facing Gerard, | 0:39:15 | 0:39:17 | |
who wanted some advice on recent changes to the terms and conditions | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
of his final salary pension. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
As Michelle explains, this isn't unusual these days. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:27 | |
Now, I think a number of the pension schemes, | 0:39:27 | 0:39:30 | |
and this could be happening to yours, | 0:39:30 | 0:39:32 | |
instead of averaging your last three years of salary, | 0:39:32 | 0:39:35 | |
they are actually going to average your whole salary history | 0:39:35 | 0:39:39 | |
-throughout the whole of your career... -OK. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
..with the organisation. | 0:39:42 | 0:39:43 | |
Now, obviously, that could have an impact on the final income. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:47 | |
It could be the level of income you were expecting to retire on | 0:39:47 | 0:39:52 | |
is lower than the previous rules that applied to the scheme. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:56 | |
-OK. -I mean, it can be unsettling, | 0:39:56 | 0:39:57 | |
when you are putting into your pension | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
and you are solidly employed over the years | 0:39:59 | 0:40:01 | |
and then all of a sudden the scheme changes. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:04 | |
I'm afraid it is very unsettling. | 0:40:04 | 0:40:06 | |
If they make any changes to a workplace pension scheme, | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
they are required to consult with you, so they will be sending you out | 0:40:09 | 0:40:12 | |
quite a lot of correspondence, | 0:40:12 | 0:40:14 | |
and we also are a government organisation, | 0:40:14 | 0:40:16 | |
so if you get very confused you can phone us up | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
and we can try and answer the questions specific | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
-to your personal circumstances. -OK. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
-Lovely. -Thank you. -Excellent, goodbye. | 0:40:25 | 0:40:27 | |
Next into our parlour is Bill. | 0:40:27 | 0:40:29 | |
He is 72 and currently receiving a workplace pension | 0:40:29 | 0:40:33 | |
and a state pension. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:34 | |
His question is about what will happen to it | 0:40:34 | 0:40:37 | |
when he's no longer around. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:38 | |
I unfortunately lost my wife... | 0:40:38 | 0:40:41 | |
..21 years ago, but I do have a partner, | 0:40:41 | 0:40:44 | |
and I'm just wondering if she would be able to claim | 0:40:44 | 0:40:48 | |
if anything occurred to me. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
In the past, pensions used to be provided on death to widows | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
and widowers only, but more recently, | 0:40:53 | 0:40:56 | |
schemes have updated it to include partners. | 0:40:56 | 0:40:59 | |
I would really recommend that you do contact | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
the pension scheme's administrator. | 0:41:02 | 0:41:04 | |
Tell them your situation and see whether there is an entitlement | 0:41:04 | 0:41:07 | |
for your partner and whether you need to complete any forms | 0:41:07 | 0:41:11 | |
with her details in order that she does get something on your death. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:15 | |
I'll have a wee think on that. Thank you very much. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
So it's important if you're not married, but you want somebody | 0:41:18 | 0:41:21 | |
to benefit from your pension later, | 0:41:21 | 0:41:23 | |
-then you have to make sure you get the paperwork done. -Absolutely. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:27 | |
Unless you complete the form, they don't know... | 0:41:27 | 0:41:29 | |
-Exactly! -..who else you would wish to receive the money. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:31 | |
Well, that's very helpful. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:33 | |
And are you enjoying your retirement, Bill? | 0:41:33 | 0:41:35 | |
I certainly am. I can recommend it. | 0:41:35 | 0:41:37 | |
Excellent. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:38 | |
And with that, it's time to close our pensions parlour. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:43 | |
We've answered lots of questions and hopefully done some real good. | 0:41:43 | 0:41:47 | |
I don't know about Michelle but I'm exhausted. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:50 | |
Luckily, there are still some tea and biscuits left. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
Oh, that sounds lovely. Thank you. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
So, Michelle, I think a very useful day. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
Met some interesting people. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
What do you think are the three top tips | 0:42:00 | 0:42:02 | |
that you can give people on pensions? | 0:42:02 | 0:42:04 | |
I think the first one is it's never too young to start. | 0:42:04 | 0:42:06 | |
It's been fantastic, we've had some young people today | 0:42:06 | 0:42:09 | |
that are in pensions schemes and putting something aside | 0:42:09 | 0:42:12 | |
for their retirement. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:13 | |
The second one, for the freelancers | 0:42:13 | 0:42:15 | |
and the self-employed people, | 0:42:15 | 0:42:16 | |
you do get tax relief | 0:42:16 | 0:42:17 | |
on those pension contributions, | 0:42:17 | 0:42:19 | |
so if you put them in | 0:42:19 | 0:42:20 | |
in the right year, | 0:42:20 | 0:42:21 | |
it could really help your savings. | 0:42:21 | 0:42:24 | |
And finally, my third tip, don't be afraid to ask questions. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:27 | |
We are the government helpline and we'll worry about the complicated | 0:42:27 | 0:42:31 | |
pension bit and hopefully explain it to you in a way that you can get | 0:42:31 | 0:42:35 | |
the most and therefore get the highest retirement income. | 0:42:35 | 0:42:38 | |
Well, Michelle, it's been invaluable having you | 0:42:38 | 0:42:41 | |
-with us today and thank you so much for your help. -Thank you. | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
Well, that was a really rather successful first outing | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
for the pension patrol, I thought. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
Still, loads of questions to be answered, so who knows, | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
our comfy seats might be coming to a shopping centre near you. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:55 | |
And quickly, let's give you the answer to our | 0:42:57 | 0:42:59 | |
What Was The Year That Was archive quiz. Fiona? | 0:42:59 | 0:43:01 | |
Very quickly, 1989. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
A very big year - the year that the Berlin Wall came down. | 0:43:04 | 0:43:06 | |
It was indeed. | 0:43:06 | 0:43:08 | |
OK. The shutters are coming down on this programme. | 0:43:08 | 0:43:10 | |
-Until tomorrow, see you then. -Bye-bye. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:14 | |
# It ain't much I'm asking, if you want the truth | 0:43:14 | 0:43:18 | |
# Here's to the future, hear the cry of youth | 0:43:18 | 0:43:22 | |
# I want it all, I want it all | 0:43:22 | 0:43:27 | |
# I want it all and I want it now | 0:43:27 | 0:43:32 | |
# I want it all, I want it all | 0:43:32 | 0:43:38 | |
# I want it all and I want it now... # | 0:43:38 | 0:43:42 |