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Category: Age UK

  • Over-65s may go without food or heat to cope with energy price rises

    Nearly a quarter (24%) of older people believe they’ll be forced to choose between heating their home and buying food if their energy bills increase substantially.

    Inflation jumped to a near 30-year high of 5.4% in December. And the energy price cap is due to rise in the spring, possibly increasing bills by 50%, according to predictions.

    Only ‘bad choices’

    An Age UK survey found that more than half (54%) of those surveyed said they’d have to heat their home less.

    And just over two-fifths (43%) said they’d have to cut back, go into debt or simply won’t be able to afford to pay their bill, according to the research among over-65s.

    One 69-year-old woman told Age UK:

    I am currently in bed keeping warm today as it’s so cold and I can’t afford to have my heating on for the whole day.

    I’m reduced to showering on alternate days, which I hate, and I’m eating food that’s microwaveable to avoid heating my oven.

    Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said:

    Many older people are reliant on the state pension as their main source of income and simply do not have the flex in their finances to cope with such enormous price rises.

    At Age UK, we are being contacted every day by desperate older people in this position, people for whom there are only ‘bad choices’ – ration your energy use, cut back on food or other essentials, or go into debt.

    Missing out on vital support

    Age UK warned that many older people are missing out on extra income as well as vital support. That’s because they’re not receiving Pension Credit, despite being eligible. And as a result, they don’t have access to Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

    It said many older people on low incomes are unaware that they qualify for Pension Credit. Moreover, a successful claim opens the door to a wide range of other support, including help with energy bills.

    Therefore Age UK is urging any older person on a low or modest income to have a full benefits check. This is as part of its campaign ‘The Cost Of Cold’.

    People can call the charity’s advice line on freephone 0800 169 65 65. They can also contact their local Age UK office, or visit www.ageuk.org.uk.

    Abrahams said:

    Any older person who is finding it difficult to pay their bills, or who is worried about staying warm, can call us today – if we help you to submit a successful claim it could make all the difference.

    There really is no downside to checking you are receiving everything you are entitled to, so please come forward and let us help you make sure.

    A government spokesperson said:

    We know this has been a challenging time for many people, which is why we’re providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help households across the country with the cost of living.

    Our winter fuel payments are supporting over 11 million pensioners with their energy bills and we are continuing to encourage those eligible for Pension Credit, and the wide range of other benefits it can provide, to make a claim.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Energy bill rise ‘could trigger national emergency for millions of older people’

    The predicted 50% rise in energy bills from April could trigger a national emergency for millions of older people, a charity has warned. Age UK has urged ministers to take immediate and decisive action on energy bills to “mitigate the potentially devastating impact of the escalating crisis”.

    Rising bills could be affecting physical health

    In a letter this week to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey, the charity wrote:

    We know that many older people on low incomes already feel under so much financial pressure that they are rationing their energy use, and this is causing us real concern.

    For example, we have heard from older people who are too worried to use their oven and are living off soup and sandwiches instead, showering only every two days rather than daily, and constantly watching their smart meter and turning their heating off once their daily spending exceeds the meagre limit they have set.

    Now that winter is well and truly upon us, it is all the more important that older people on low incomes have the confidence to keep their heating switched on so they can stay adequately warm over the next few months and protect their health.

    This means that the Government must reassure them that, if they do so, they will not face an energy bill in the spring that will be beyond their means to pay.

    Increased prices are eating into people’s pensions

    The government’s price cap, which limits the amounts that suppliers can charge, is currently at an already record-beating £1,277. But analysts at Investec think this could go up to £1,995 on April 1.

    The rises are due to a major spike in global gas prices, which have been pushed up by high demand around the world.

    Age UK said rising inflation was already eating into the pensions of swathes of older people, but warned that the unprecedented hike in wholesale energy prices would be unmanageable for those living on low fixed incomes.

    Older people are typically at home more than younger age groups and feel the cold to a greater extent, meaning predictions of a £600 bill increase is likely to be a significant underestimation for many.

    The charity said cutting the five percent VAT from all households’ energy bills from April until at least the end of 2022 and providing additional payments of up to £500 to those on the lowest incomes could encourage vulnerable older people to keep their heating on this winter.

    Some are switching off their heating to save money

    Age UK’s director Caroline Abrahams said:

    The astronomical hike in energy prices now widely anticipated has already forced many deeply anxious older people on low incomes to turn their heating down below what is comfortable or advisable, with some switching it off altogether for some or all of the day and night.

    CITY Bulb
    (PA Graphics)

    Make no mistake, this situation will have a devastating impact on the health of our older population unless the Government intervenes quickly and takes their fears away.

    Older people, particularly those living on low fixed incomes, urgently need reassurance from the Government that they can afford to keep warm when low temperatures demand it without going into debt – something most dread and will do anything to avoid.

    Ministers will have to go considerably further than offering token gestures of financial support such as adding £10 per year to the Warm Home Discount Scheme from next year. Energy price rises on the scale we are now seeing are unprecedented and the Government’s response must be equal to the threat they pose to older people living on low and modest incomes.

    Age UK is urging older people to call its free national advice line on 0800 169 65 65 before turning the heating off or down to check they are receiving all the financial support available to them, and to be aware that energy suppliers have a duty to offer support if people are struggling with bills or debt.

    A government spokesman said:

    We are taking decisive action to help more than 11.4 million pensioners with the cost of living by providing Winter Fuel Payments of up to £300 per household.

    This is on top of wider support which includes billions of pounds for households via the Energy Price Cap, Warm Home Discount Scheme, Cold Weather Payments, Household Support Fund, and freezes to alcohol and fuel duty.

    Domestic fuels such as gas and electricity are already subject to the reduced rate of five percent of VAT.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.