The theme around which this volume has been organised is the continuing utility of the idea of social class for the understanding of contemporary later life. Within the chapters published in this book, we have seen many different ways in which social class continues to be a valuable concept for researchers, as well as constituting a critical aspect of old age. Elizangela Storelli and John B. Williamson's chapter on the global implications of changes to pensions policy both in the US and abroad not only demonstrates that pension policies create or maintain class differences in later life, but that different models based upon different contributory principles can have different implications for providing financial security in later years. That these alternatives are not pursued is seen as one of the consequences of the salience of social class and of the interests implicated in its existence. The chapter on social work among older people in the UK by Trish Hafford-Letchfield also points out that evidence of widening inequalities is emerging as a result of changes to social policy, such as the introduction of direct payments, and that this is affecting those who have the poorest health and the lowest capacity to take advantage of formal and informal sources of support. Christina Victor's chapter extends our understanding of how the formal and informal care sectors, in terms of both providers as well as recipients, are connected to social class, as well as being affected by gender and ethnicity. These chapters provide valuable analysis regarding the connections between social class and old age that are ever-present in contemporary social policy directed towards later life. They demonstrate that the issues faced by the oldest sections of the population are not just issues of age and dependency, but also structured by many of the same forces that influence younger sections of the population. This point is made more directly in Chris Phillipson's chapter, which addresses the topic of globalisation and its effects on both later life and social class. Starting from a position that accepts that class has both been neglected in social gerontology and also has a major impact on the lives of older people, Phillipson also acknowledges that social changes brought about in the wake of globalisation are changing some of the coordinates of old age and not just around changes in pension policy.