Age limits and disability benefits

I am a new member of the research team and I am looking at social policy around money and savings.

One of my longstanding research interests is social care and how it should be funded in future. It is a 'hot topic' at the moment and is likely to be a high profile issue in the run up to the 2010 election. You may have seen the news debates about the future funding arrangements for long term care. One of the issues that is being discussed is whether disability benefits that are currently available without a means test, should be added to the general social care funding pot. In the recent Government consultation paper, two main benefits were included (1) Disability Living Allowance for those aged under 65 years and (2) Attendance Allowance for the over 65's. The Government has just announced that it will not include Disability Living Allowance for people under 65 in these proposals but Attendance Allowance is still 'up for grabs' (see the link below). I would be very interested to hear from anyone who receives Attendance Allowance or who has a relative who does, to find out what you think about these proposals?

As the Government increasingly wants people to work longer (e.g. past 65 years) it is going to become harder to justify age differences in benefit entitlements. The age at which people are deemed to be 'working age adults' and 'people who are retired' will become much less clear cut in future. On the one hand, we have anti-age discrimination legislation that seeks to challenge artificial age limits in some areas of policy and others where a distinction is being made on the basis of age (typically 65). Do you think this is fair ?

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/news/2009/10/health-secretary-clarifies-government-position-on-disability-benefits/

Lynne