British government gets flack from elderly LONDON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The British government is being accused of "social engineering" by elderly groups after suggesting they go back to work and move into smaller homes. David Halpern, a senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, said elderly people should go back to work because of the benefits of social interaction, The Daily Telegraph reported. "Work matters, particularly for older people, not just for money, but absolutely for social contact," he said. He also said the elderly who remain in large houses after their children move out are contributing to a housing shortage in England. "A big issue we have is under-occupation of houses," Halpern said. We have more TVs than people in the house. Ros Altmann, director general of the Saga over-50s group, attacked the comments, saying, "It's outrageous social engineering for the government to suggest that older people somehow don't deserve to live in their own homes and that the government should decide what size home is appropriate." "Working longer is inevitable but we need to be very careful in raising the state pension age to recognize that there are substantial differences in life expectancy across the country," he said. Nonetheless, the government recently backed plans to help pensioners move into smaller properties and rent out their family homes, the newspaper said, as well as increase the retirement age from 65 to 68.