One in four pensioners struggling to pay bills

ONE pensioner in four is struggling to pay bills as campaigners warn that eradicating poverty among the elderly is “not a job done”.

As many as 2.8 million people aged over 65 have to watch every penny with 800,000 unable to afford even the basics, according to a survey by the charity Age UK.

More than a million are unable to meet an unexpected expense of £200, while nearly as many would be unable to replace a broken oven.

Being able to keep their homes warm is a problem in the winter for over 500,000 pensioners while 700,000 are unable to keep their homes damp-free

Yet £3.5billion in benefits go unclaimed every year, including help with council tax demands.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Today we are at risk as a society of blithely assuming that every older person is comfortably off, but these new figures show that to be way off the mark.

“With so many older people worried about being hard up it is certainly not ‘job done’ when it comes to ending pensioner poverty. Trying to make ends meet on a low income is a big challenge at any age, but if you are an older person living on your own who is praying your ageing television somehow keeps going, because you know there is no way you’ll ever be able to afford to replace it, life becomes especially grim.”

The charity surveyed 1,300 older people about their money worries for a report, Poverty In Later Life.

Pensioners are urged to contact Age UK so they can find out if they are entitled to financial help from the state.

The research found that about 286,000 older people are unable to pay regular bills, while 1.3 million are left isolated and lonely as they have no access to a car and cannot afford a taxi.

According to official figures, retired households have tripled their incomes in the past 40 years, substantially narrowing the gap in earnings with working-age households.

Back in 1977 the average pensioner household’s income was worth £10,500 at 2016 prices – just 52 per cent of the £20,200 earned by non-retired households.

But by the financial year ending in 2016, those pensioner incomes had risen to £29,500, according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, the number of pensioners living below the poverty line has now increased to 1.9 million (16 per cent) in the UK.

This is calculated as living on an income below 60 per cent of the median household income.

The average retired pensioner lived on a state pension (including pension credits) of £11,018 last year.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “By introducing the triple lock and protecting the poorest through Pension Credit, we have reduced pensioner poverty.

“Other support, such as winter fuel payments, should give older people the assurance that they can turn up their heating when they need to, without the fear of an unaffordable bill.”