THE boss of McCarthy & Stone has warned that Britain is “woefully unprepared” for a population shift which is turning many older people into a “Generation Stuck”.

Chief executive Clive Fenton says by 2035, there will be more than a million pensioners in the South West keen to move to smaller homes – but that most are currently prohibited by costs and the lack of suitable housing.

The Bournemouth-based retirement developer has repeatedly called on the government to help people move to retirement properties and release existing homes.

It produces an annual Retirement Confidence Index (RCI), developed with YouGov, which shows 561,000 people aged 65 and over are looking to move or would be encouraged to do so by an exemption from stamp duty.

Mr Fenton said: “The rise in the number of those who want to downsize is an inevitable consequence of the UK’s rapidly ageing population.

“Within the next 20 years, those aged 65 and over are expected to grow by almost 50 per cent, which will expose the UK’s grossly inadequate level of suitable housing for older people if we maintain the status quo.”

McCarthy & Stone says there will be a “retirement exodus”, with demand far outstripping the 141,000 units of owner-occupied retirement housing built across the whole of the UK so far.

Mr Fenton said the government needed to consider how it could “influence market supply”, with planning policies that favoured retirement housing.

The company said the south west’s potential downsizers could release more than 549,000 bedrooms and homes with a combined value of £73billion that could be bought by families and first time buyers.

Mr Fenton said: “Despite the warning signs, the UK’s housing stock is woefully unprepared for the demographic shift to an ageing population, which has created a new ‘Generation Stuck’ dilemma. While desiring to move, as our study clearly shows, those in later life are discouraged by the lack of suitable housing and cost.

“A stamp duty exemption would make the process more attractive, and the figures show that 105,000 more older people in the south west would be encouraged to move as a result. Encouraging moves at the top end of the housing chain will stimulate activity, release millions of under-occupied family-sized homes onto local markets, and help younger people move up or onto the ladder. It’s a win-win solution.”