Pensioners are being forced to live ‘just above the breadline’, with inflation-busting bills leaving them with little money to enjoy retirement, according to a new report by Age Concern. The charity is warning that thousands of older people are missing out on a decent quality of life, which could be putting them at risk of isolation and depression in later life.
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Published today, ‘Just above the breadline: living on a low income’ reveals that many older people are denied the simple pleasures that most people take for granted.
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New findings also show that 40% of over 65s feel that their social life is restricted by a lack of money, with just over a third (35%) admitting they cannot afford to spend a day out with friends or family and one in three (33%) saying they cannot afford to go out for a meal, enjoy a night at the pub with friends, or entertain friends or family at home. Even pursuing a hobby or leisure activity is out of the question for just under a third (29%) and a whopping 41% say a holiday is simply unaffordable.
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“It does feel like you are a second-class citizen. I mean, you get barely enough to live on. When you become a pensioner, you’re not supposed to enjoy yourself or go out or have a holiday or anything. This is the way you are treated.”
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“Because you can’t go to pubs and places like that then you miss out on the social life.”
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“I wouldn’t say it was good, but we do manage. It’s not on a higher level where you can afford holidays abroad twice a year which to me is good living. It’s just above the breadline.”
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The report, the result of a number of focus groups, paints a stark picture of what it is like to be a pensioner living on a low income in today’s society. Strategies used by older people buying essential items on a limited budget include: heating just one room rather than the whole house, buying economy food and items near their sell-by date, and buying second-hand clothes from car-boot sales. Holidays are out of the question for the majority, as are trips to the hairdressers and other social events enjoyed pre-retirement such as the cinema or a football match.
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“I’d like for once to go to a shop and buy something. All what I’ve got on I’ve bought from the car boot sale.”
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“If you go to the supermarkets, particularly on a Sunday, if you go down about 3pm – they shut at 4 so start reducing their stuff. We’ve had meat that costs £4 or £5 for sometimes as little as 50p because of their sell-by date.”
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Despite this, most felt they “could get by” on their income and cover essential costs; and the Winter Fuel Allowance was widely praised. But although pensioner poverty has reduced since 1997, one in five pensioners – two million people – is still living below the breadline and millions more are worrying about meeting their escalating bills. Age Concern is today calling on the Government to make sure that the needs of today’s pensioners are not overlooked during the course of the National Pensions Debate.4
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Age Concern’s Director-General, Gordon Lishman, said: “It’s appalling that so many older people face a daily struggle to make ends meet and are being forced to sacrifice simple pleasures to afford their rapidly rising bills.
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“There is no question that radical pensions reform is desperately needed to prevent future generations facing the same fate in retirement. But the plight of today’s pensioners must not be overlooked in the midst of the pensions debate.
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“The Government’s own figures show that one in five older people are shut out from society.5 At the very least, the Government should introduce a higher basic state pension of £109 per week which rises above inflation, reduces the need for means-testing and gives pensioners enough money to afford a decent standard of living.”
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The charity is warning that without decisive Government action, public faith in pensions will remain low, the current savings crisis will spiral out of control and the value of the basic state pension will continue to decline: a disaster for both today’s and tomorrow’s pensioners.
More information : http://www.ageconcern.org.uk
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