Ageing populations, financial capability and household financial decision making in the context of neo-liberal social policy systems

There has been little focus on older people within studies of household money, although we know money relations remain highly gendered. The extent to which this matters depends in part on how far the wider financial, political and policy environment individualises late life financial decision making. The individualisation of these financial risks is evident across policy domains. Older people are increasingly expected to be actuarial subjects and competent money managers through to late old age. Within this context, how money relations within ageing households are affected by financial capability, declining cognition and formal capacity for financial decision making are matters hitherto underexplored in academic literature. This chapter brings together understandings from across disciplines to highlight the growing complexities of everyday lives for older people and financial welfare in later life, arguing that these are matters of profound personal importance requiring attention from researchers and policy actors.