Background

Volunteering by older people benefits both the individual and the organisation to which they offer their services. For the older person voluntary work can:

• help maintain a sense of purpose and self-respect, particularly for those who have retired from paid work

• lessen the isolation felt by those cut off from social networks in the workplace and from their families

• have beneficial effects on physical and mental health.

For the volunteer-involving agency older volunteers bring:

• maturity and experience - gained from both inside and outside the workplace.

• skills - built up through many years of life and work.

• availability – as older people usually have more time to spare and are more flexible in terms of when they work.

• loyalty – research shows that older people contribute more hours than any other age group, are more likely to be content with their voluntary work and to stick with it.

• numbers – there has been a steep rise in the number of older people as a proportion of the population which offers a pool of available volunteers to tap into.

On the face of it older people would appear ideal candidates for volunteer work, particularly at a time when they are living longer and healthier lives. Indeed the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering (Davis Smith, 1998) showed that people over the age of 65 had bucked the overall downward trend in volunteering since 1991. The survey showed that 45% of those between 65 and 74 had volunteered (compared with 34% in 1991) and 35% of those over 75 had volunteered (compared with 25% in the previous survey). Despite this positive trend the survey found that older people were still under-represented in volunteering compared with people in their thirties or forties.

Among the possible reasons for this under representation are the fact that many old people live on low incomes and are less likely to own a car; the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering shows a link between economic security and volunteering. The use of retirement ages by volunteer-involving organisations is another factor that may contribute to the lower proportion of older people volunteering. It was on this issue of retirement ages that the Institute for Volunteering Research was commissioned by the Home Office to examine how widespread the practice was and why organisations adopted such a policy.

Methodology

A previous survey, Issues in Volunteer Management, carried out in 1998 found that 19% of organisations had upper age limits for volunteers. To examine this issue in more detail a questionnaire was sent out to all those organisations (106 in total) that had said in the previous survey that they had an upper age limit. To supplement the questionnaire short telephone interviews were carried out with a selection of organisations that operated upper age limits, in order to elaborate on the reasons for such a policy.

Of the 61% of organisations that responded to the new survey 60% still claimed to have a fixed retirement age. This seemingly dramatic decline since1998 may represent a real change in policy among a number of organisations but it may also reflect reluctance on the part of organisations to discuss what may be a sensitive issue.

Findings

Of the 39 organisations with an upper age limit four were national voluntary agencies and 10 local agencies. Health related organisations, such as hospices and NHS hospitals also featured amongst those with a retirement age. The majority of organisations (57%) set the retirement age at 70 or 75, although nearly a third (31%) set it at 80 or even higher.

A third of respondents with an age limit applied it to all volunteers. But another third applied it only to volunteers performing certain tasks, most commonly driving. Fourteen per cent of respondents applied the limit to all volunteers with individual exceptions, which would indicate some flexibility in implementing the policy, while 11% applied it to everyone apart from those on the governing board.

The fact that many organisations have different rules for different types of volunteer was borne out in the telephone interviews. One national organisation, for example, retired its first aiders at 65, trainers at 70 and library workers at 80; while a local counselling centre retired its volunteer counsellors at 70 but had no limit for those undertaking office administration.

Insurance

The most common reason for having upper age limits was difficulty in providing insurance cover. Over a third of organisations (36%) gave insurance as the reason for retiring all volunteers, with a further 21% giving it as the reason for retiring volunteer drivers.

A number of organisations claimed that insurance was the sole reason for them having a retirement policy:

If we could get insurance we would not have an upper age limit.
Volunteer Manager in a local counselling group

The problem arises from the fact that some insurance companies consider older people a high risk group, particularly when engaged in activities which could be seen as putting the volunteer or client at risk. Hence driving was the major problem area. Several organisations claimed that they could either not get insurance cover for volunteer drivers above a certain age or could only do so at a prohibitive premium.

However some organisations claimed to have problems in getting insurance cover for volunteers no matter what tasks they were carrying out:

It is not just driving, it is all aspects of volunteering and is to do with employers liability insurance.
Volunteer Services Manager, NHS Trust.

The fact that some organisations encountered difficulties in getting particular types of insurance for older volunteers, but that the majority did not, indicates some inconsistency amongst insurance companies in their treatment of older volunteers.

Age limits provide a standard regulation

Having a standard regulation was the reason given by 21% of organisations with an upper age limit. Organisations found it easier to have a catchall limit than to decide whether individual volunteers should continue on a case-by-case basis. Such a policy it was argued had the advantage of making it clear when the volunteer should leave without the need for interviews or assessment procedures.

Health

Several organisations mentioned the physical state of their volunteers as a reason for having retirement ages. As a volunteer’s physical health deteriorates their ability to do their job may decline. According to some volunteer managers this often led to volunteers retiring themselves before the official age limit:

The other thing for people over 55 are health problems, they think they won't be able to walk around a large hospital or push a heavy trolley shop or the library trolley which are heavy.
NHS Trust Voluntary Services Manager.

The Volunteer Services Officer of a social services department reported that volunteers working with the elderly often ended up becoming service users themselves.

Encouraging new blood

Only one youth organisation in the survey gave 'encouraging new blood' as the reason for having an upper age limit, although several more mentioned it directly or indirectly in the follow-up interviews. One national body that deployed volunteers to work with children had a policy of retiring its ‘active’ volunteers at 65. It was claimed that this age limit kept ‘a balance and fluidity in the leadership’.

Conclusion

It is clear from the survey that a significant minority of volunteer-involving organisations operate an upper age limit policy. Such policies actively discriminate against people on the grounds of age and are a waste of potential talent.

The difficulty in obtaining insurance is the principal reason given for retiring volunteers, particularly in relation to driving. A perception clearly exists among some insurance companies that older people are a high risk group although, in relation to driving, the evidence suggests that younger people are more likely to have accidents.

Other factors that lead organisations to implement upper age limits are the fact that having a blanket policy avoids the need to assess volunteers on an individual basis and that older people are often perceived as lacking the ability to carry out tasks due to declining health.

Recommendations

Volunteer-involving organisations should:

• Remove upper age limits for volunteers and look at constructive alternatives to their use.

• Treat older volunteers on an individual basis and judge them on their ability to carry out their assignment.

• Shop around for insurance companies which are prepared to offer cover for older volunteers at reasonable rates.

• Encourage older people to explore their full potential as volunteers by regularly assessing individual skills and capabilities and providing appropriate training and support.

Government should:

• Convene a working group to examine in more detail the problems surrounding insurance. This should include representatives of the insurance industry and of volunteer-involving organisations, including both those who have experienced insurance problems and those who have not.

• Ensure upper age restrictions are removed from public bodies such as NHS Trusts and Social Services Departments.

• Through its funding of volunteer-involving organisations exert pressure on groups to remove arbitrary age limits. Organisations in receipt of public funds should be required to adopt a non-discriminatory policy in relation to older volunteers.