Dee, 67, who lives in Accrington in Lancashire, left school at 14. She worked in factories, hairdressing shops and bars, and did secretarial temp work all over the country before she took a job at HM Revenue and Customs, where she worked full-time for 23 years.
Last year, in May, she began her retirement, but after only a few weeks she realised that she could not afford it because of the rising cost of living. “I had two months off, then I had to return to work,” she says. “I rent my home and I can survive on my state pension of around £800 a month and two small private pensions, but I cannot live. My rent and household bills alone come to just under £700.”
