Woeful preparation for ageing population will cause misery, say Lords It says: "The UK population is ageing rapidly, but we have concluded that the Government and our society are woefully underprepared. Longer lives can be a great benefit, but there has been a collective failure to address the implications and without urgent action this great boon could turn into a series of miserable crises. The committee comprises former Cabinet ministers, mandarins and medical experts, and its recommendations will be closely studied by the Government. The committee welcomes plans to cap the maximum bill for those requiring social care but warns that the flagship announcement "will not be sufficient." They call for a "ten year" spending deal for the NHS and social care to allow services to be properly planned. The report highlights predictions that more than half as many extra people will be living with three or more long-term conditions in England by 2018, compared with 2008. It also warns that the Government, pensions industry and employers need to overhaul the pension system so that those in defined contribution schemes, now the majority of company schemes, have a clearer idea of what income they can eventually expect. The peers also say that the state cannot shoulder all the burden and suggest that pensioners should be offered cheap, risk-free schemes to release equity from their homes. Michelle Mitchell, charity director general at Age UK, praised the report, saying: "It's the first time a group of senior policymakers in this country has shown it grasps the scale and nature of change needed across our society in response to the gift of longer lives."