Summary

In this study we use ONS cohort fertility data to compare the childbearing patterns of women completing childbearing without children, for three large cohorts, born in the last 100 years, resulting from birth spikes post WW1; WW2 and in the 1960s. We explore possible reasons for remaining childless and how these differ between the three cohorts and we project how the childlessness patterns observed will impact on the number of people reaching old age without children over the next 25 years.

Publications

• Living longer: implications of childlessness among tomorrow's older population

  In the future, there will be more older people and a higher proportion of those will be childless. Because adult children are the most common providers of informal social care to their parents at older ages, this is likely to increase the demand for paid-for care.

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