Over-60s turning to savings to access treatment

Over 860,000 people are currently on the Trauma & Orthopaedic waiting list with the average patient waiting almost four months for a procedure. As NHS waiting times for consultant referrals, diagnostic tests and elective procedures such as hip and knee replacements continue to rise, the over-60s who are more likely to require these interventions are reassessing how they plan for healthcare in later life.

While private medical insurance can offer reassurance, many over 60s find traditional policies prohibitively expensive or poorly suited to their needs at this stage of life.

A 2025 YouGov survey found that 15% of people in the UK over the age of 65 had used private healthcare in the past year with 71% using either disposable income or money from a savings account to pay for it.

To combat this, Lateral, a company building financial products specifically for people over 60, has launched the Lateral Health Plan – a hybrid alternative whereby customers are covered for specific scenarios that most commonly affect the over 60s such as knee or hip replacements or hernia treatments.

Aston spoke to Laura Ashforth & Steven Mendel co-founders of Lateral.