The organisation was seeking to raise awareness of issues facing the country’s over 50s and build on plans set out in its manifesto.
The manifesto was published prior to the general election and called on policy makers to consider taking action on issues including: stamp duty breaks for over 65s who are downsizing, ensuring quality financial guidance for pensioners and improving standards of care.
Conservative MP Damian Collins, whose constituency in Folkestone and Hythe is the location of Saga’s head office, offered his support by sponsoring the event.
Paying tribute to the company he said: “Saga is a great British success story, it is an amazing company that started with one hotel in Folkestone with an idea that there was a market for the over 50s that should be catered for, that was driven by strong insights into what its customers wanted and how to deliver extra services for them.
“And that business which started as a family business has grown to be the fantastic economic and commercial success that it is today. One that not only gives a lot of pleasure and support to its customers but also employs a lot of people.”
Mr Collins added: “The issue of intergenerational care and support and the role that companies like Saga can play in supporting people in later life is a really important debate and one that Saga has contributed to very strongly, and I think it’s an issue that all parliamentarians take a great deal of interest in.”
Also speaking at the event was Jonathan Hill, Saga’s chief financial officer, who said: “As you know we have got an ageing population and in fact very soon over 50% of the electorate will be in the over 50s category and that will continue to rise…
“There are some politicians that have wrongly looked to exploit intergenerational tensions. We actually think that the over 50s are a very caring bunch. For instance in the past we have called for national insurance breaks for the young to help get them into work. We are also putting forward a policy of reducing stamp duty on those trading down so we can actually use the housing stock in our country more efficiently and more effectively.”
Picking up on the issue of stamp duty, Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh told PoliticsHome: “I am interested in what Saga are saying about reducing stamp duty for people who are trading down, because that makes a lot of sense to a lot of people and is one of the innovative tax breaks that could genuinely make a difference.
“Housing is a huge issue and there are obviously a lot of empty nest people in large houses who can help and at the same time can release a lot of capital for themselves.”
Dr Pugh added that he was pleased to see that the new leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, was over 50.
“Personally I think this model that you are over the hill by the time you are 50 or 60 is being contested now, because obviously a lot of young people have voted for somebody closer to the age of their grandfather than their father and that’s not a bad thing.
“In a funny way it’s quite a liberating thing. The idea that politics should be populated by bright young things who leave university, become special advisors and then become cabinet ministers overnight; I don’t think that is the most stable or reliable basis for running a government.”
Other parliamentarians in attendance were keen to praise the work of Saga, with Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Garden hailing the company’s “very good reputation.”
“I have used them for insurance policies and for other things they are very worth supporting in all the things that they do,” she said.
Conservative MP for Cardiff North, Craig Williams who won his seat in May, added: “Saga does a great job in looking after people who are in or are nearing retirement. They are a great advocate, and it is incredibly important to engage with that demographic in my constituency and they are a great facilitator for that.”