UK PENSIONERS ARE CUTTING BACK ON HEATING DUE TO SOARING BILLS: REPORT

Tue 14 October 2023:

Three in five over 60s with a household income of £20,000 or less have cut back on heating or powering their homes in order to make ends meet, research claimed.
As the cold weather kicks in, 8.9million, or 54 percent, of over 60s are worried about being able to pay their energy bills this winter, Age UK said, This Is Money reported.

Not all government financial assistance is open to every pensioner, and eligibility criteria often apply, notably for pension credit.

One unnamed 72-year-old man, ineligible for pension credit, told Age UK, “I don’t know how I am going to manage.”

“I’ve applied for pension credit, but got turned down and because of this I’m not eligible for the cost of living payouts this year,” he said.

“The only extra money I received is a £200 discretionary payment from the council. I do get housing benefit, but it still leaves me £200 short because my rent has increased,” he added.

Meanwhile, a 67-year-old woman told Age UK” “I am constantly economising.”

“I wear extra clothes but do find my hands go tingly as I’m cold. I don’t drive and cannot travel easily due ill health, and now can’t afford taxis to get around or socialise. I try to shop around but cannot keep up with price changes in different shops. Money decisions make everything more stressful,” she added.

A 79-year-old man, said, “All of this year’s state pension rise, plus my savings is simply disappearing due to the huge range of price rises and cost of gas and electric, council tax, home insurance and the absolutely disgraceful continuing rise in all foods of every kind.”

“Absolutely everything has increased in price,” he said, adding, “Millions of pensioners are simply existing or living in fear about the future.”

The average home currently pays energy bills of £1,834 a year, alongside sky-high costs for food, fuel and other essentials.

Age UK said 7.3million people, equating to 44 percent of over 60s, have already cut back on social and leisure activities amid higher bills for basics like energy and food.

It claimed that 2.6million over 60s have cut back on their telephone, internet and water usage in a bid to keep costs down.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said, “There’s rising concern about how some older people will cope when the temperature dips and they need to turn up the heat.”

“Our new statistics reflect what we are also hearing on the Age UK Advice Line: many on low and modest incomes are already fretting over how they’ll keep their heads above water when the winter bills come rolling in,” she added.

“As ever, our biggest worry is that they will be so frightened of being unable to pay that they’ll turn their heating down too low through the colder months, if they run it at all, jeopardising their health,” she said.

“After two tough years of this vicious cost of living crisis some older people say they are unsure how they’ll get through a third, having run down their savings and made all the economies they can,” Abrahams said.

“That’s why we are calling on the Chancellor to announce more financial support for those older people who really need it this winter in his Autumn Statement, to give them the confidence and wherewithal to stay warm through the chilly weather,” she added.

She said, “Unfortunately, the experts say that energy prices are set to go up in January, dip in April and remain at high levels for the rest of 2024.”

“There is no certainty that bills will become manageable again in the near future and this is bound to have a detrimental effect on older people’s ability to stay warm and well,” Abrahams said.

“Given these forecasts, the Government must go further and do more to protect all the older people whose low and modest incomes place them in a precarious position this year and next,” she added.

In October, Age UK said 4.2million, or nearly a third, of older people in the UK had cut back on food and other groceries as stubbornly high costs continue to affect living standards.

Having savings can affect how much people receive in pension credit, but a rainy day fund of up to £10,000 will be disregarded if your income is low and other eligibility criteria is met.

Age UK thinks there are between 400,000 to 500,000 households in the UK eligible for pension credit and receiving housing benefit or a council tax reduction, but not claiming for pension credit.

Of perhaps even greater concern are the people who remain on a low income, but just miss out on meeting the eligibility criteria required for pension credit.

Age UK said, “Many will have meagre incomes that taken them just above the level to receive pension credit – perhaps because of a small private pension, or because the full new state pension is set just above the basic pension credit rate.”

“Not only do they miss out on extra weekly income and other discounts associated with claiming pension credit, they will also miss out on the £300 Cost of Living payment this autumn and £299 in spring next year,” it added.

The £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment will be paid to all households in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments, in the same way as last year.

The Government said this week, “Pensioner households will also receive £300 which will be paid as a top up to those eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment in November and December.”

“Combined with the one-off Cost of Living Disability Payment earlier this year, some households will receive £1,350 in total,” it added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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