Trends in older people's perceptions of necessities and deprivation in Great Britain and Northern Ireland: what difference did a decade (or so) make?

This paper analyses trends in socially perceived necessities (SPNs), and in material and social deprivation among older people between 1999 (2002 in Northern Ireland) and 2012. Comparative analyses show not only that older people have reduced expectations of what are considered 'necessities', but also that they have lower rates of deprivation compared with older people a decade or so ago. Moreover, relative deprivation indices produce higher rates of deprivation among older people than absolute deprivation indices. A newly created deprivation index for older people raises only marginally the prevalence and incidence of deprivation among older people.