High grocery bills are toast
Post-Brexit price hikes slow down
WITH TRICIA PHILLIPS A QUARTER of adults are relying on discounts and subsidies to make their retirement more affordable – but many will struggle as they overestimate what help they will get.
Research from insurers Aviva reveals a quarter think rail travel and spectacles are free for pensioners when they are only discounted, while one in 10 think broadband and water charges are free – they’re not.
One in seven think that they won’t have to pay any council tax, and two-fifths believe it will be discounted.
Only those aged 65 and over receiving pension credit or people living on their own are eligible for a discount on council tax.
Meanwhile, one in seven believe they will be given social care or be looked after in a home for free, and a third are expecting a discount.
In Scotland, anyone who is over 65 is entitled to free personal care but it is up to local authorities to set criteria for who is eligible.
Residents in a care or nursing home will get a £171 weekly contribution towards personal care and £78 weekly for nursing care, if they have a medical need. The individual will have to pay for the rest. BY DAVID CRAIK HARD-PRESSED shoppers got a lift yesterday on hopes that the post-Brexit hike in supermarket prices could be coming to an end.
According to figures from analysts Kantar Worldpanel, grocery inflation rose 3.2 per cent for the 12 weeks to July 16 – the same rate of increase as last month’s data.
They said rising prices in categories such as butter, fish and cola had been partially offset by falling prices in areas including fruit squash and cooked poultry.
Rising inflation both in food and energy costs has put huge pressure on households, particularly with wages failing to increase at the same rate.
“Consumers will be pleased to hear that price rises are no longer accelerating,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. “One year on from the EU referendum – which had a marked impact on the price of imported groceries – struggling shoppers could soon start to feel upward pricing pressures ease.”
Kantar said supermarket sales had increased by 3.9 per cent during the period compared to the same time last year.
It said the warm summer weather had led to a surge in demand for ice cream and suncare products.
Lidl were the best performers, with sales rising 19.4 per cent, their strongest growth in almost three years, with Aldi up 17.9 per cent. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons saw sales increases of 2.3 per cent, 2.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.