The rising ‘cost of living crisis’ is having a detrimental impact on everyone from affording to cover rising bills to astronomical prices of essentials such as food. Among the groups hardest hit by the crisis are older people / pensioners, who are often on a fixed income and tend to spend more on home energy bills than other households.
It’s true to say that many over-65s are reliant on their pensions that do not rise in line with inflation and price increases. In April the state pension went up by 3.1%. The average energy bill of just under £2,000 is 20% of the £9,627 a year paid through the new state pension. As such, a large proportion of older people are being hit particularly badly with the effects of the cost of living crisis.
The Pension Policy Institute reports that the cost of living is increasing more quickly for pensioners than their income, with rises in housing and energy significantly impacting this group.
The data from the Pension Policy Institute, reveals that pensioners spend a growing portion of their income on essentials such as housing, bills and food as they become older and have less to cover transport or leisure activities, leaving many isolated and lonely.
The impact of the crisis is already evident as older people are become more and more reliant on local emergency provisions and services such as food banks seen here in the Sky News report:
We are here to support you...
Ensuring you are receiving everything you are entitled to is very important, many people aren’t aware of the money they should be receiving. Our Team will be able to discuss with you the different options available and guide you through any necessary application processes. We can provide support in whatever form suits you best: we can chat to you over the phone, send you information in the post or meet you in person.
These checks explore whether there are any benefits you could be claiming currently. Our Information Team can take you through this process and talk through the outcome. Dealing with benefits and claims can be confusing, we will ensure you know the next steps if there are unclaimed benefits you could be accessing.
If you’re over State Pension age (currently 66 years old for men and women) and you need help with your personal care because of a physical or mental illness or disability, you may be able to claim Attendance Allowance. There is an application process which must be worked through for this. Our Information Team volunteers will be able to go through the whole application with you, aiming to show your situation as clearly as possible.
info@ageconcernhampshire.org.uk
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