New research shows that 4,795 people a year die while in poverty in the North East.
That is the equivalent of 92 every week or 13 a day, a figure described as "shocking" by end-of-life charity Marie Curie.
It has revealed the statistics today in a new report based on work by Loughborough University. It found that people of working age are at a high risk, with 1 in 3 (32%) of this group dying in poverty.
Read more: Shocking figures show more than 170,000 children are living in poverty in the North East
On the back of these figures, the Marie Curie charity today launches a campaign to 'end poverty at the end of life'. It is calling for UK people of working age diagnosed as terminally ill who are in poverty to have access to their State Pension early.
It says that the benefits system for working age people who are dying fails to protect them from falling below the poverty line.
Having to reduce or give up work, combined with the added costs of living with a terminal illness, such as higher energy bills and paying for home adaptations and care, all contribute to the likelihood of financial hardship amongst this group, with costs rising as much as £16,000 a year.
Alongside early access to the State Pension for terminally ill people, Marie Curie is launching its Dying in Poverty campaign and petition, calling for a range of measures to help terminally ill people who are struggling with the cost of living at the end of their lives.
The charity has welcomed recent steps from Government to allow people with a terminal diagnosis of 12 months or less to get expedited access to benefits, but warned that these changes need implementing quickly, and that much more must be done in order to eradicate poverty at the end of life.
Matthew Reed, the Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said: "No one wants to imagine spending the last months of their life shivering in a cold home, struggling to feed themselves, their children, and burdened with the anxiety of falling into debt. But for 4,795 people a year in the North East that is their reality.
"It’s a far cry from the end of life that we’d all hope for. We are staggered to see the scale of poverty among dying people. Simply put, it is shocking. It is clear that the working age benefits system is failing to prevent dying people from falling into poverty.
"The UK Government must act to give dying people early access to their State Pension. It cannot be right that people who won’t live to pension age due to terminal illness miss out when they desperately need it simply because they are not ‘old enough’ when they die.”
Juliet Stone, from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, said: “Our research, for the first time, not only tells us how many people die in poverty but shines a light on who these people are, where they live in the UK and the triggers, such as terminal illness, which push them below the poverty line.
"Although we expected to find an increased risk of poverty the end of life, we were shocked to discover the extent to which this is happening across the UK. Everyone who has received a bill, filled up their car or done the weekly shop knows the cost of living is high and rising.
"For people with terminal illness, the challenges ahead, both physically and financially, are likely to be even tougher. The number of people dying in poverty has almost certainly risen even further since the period covered by our research and will only get higher in the coming months as the cost of living crisis deepens.”
Marie Curie’s report, 'Dying in Poverty: Examining poverty at the end of life in the UK', also shows how women and people from minority ethnic groups are particularly vulnerable to poverty at the end of life. The data says 28% of working age women who die spend the end of their life in poverty. This rises to a shamefully high 42% among working age people from minority ethnic groups.
Analysis of the UK’s nations shows that people in Wales are at more risk of dying in poverty than in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
When comparing local authorities, the research highlights that people living in urban areas such as London and Birmingham, along with areas in the North East and North West of England, are at a higher risk of spending their last year of life in poverty.
Along with its petition to grant working age people the state pension if they have a terminal illness, Marie Curie is also calling for greater support with energy costs to be made available to all terminally ill people, regardless of their age, and for more support with the costs of childcare for terminally ill parents with young children.
A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said: "Approaching the end of your life is an unimaginable challenge and our priority is providing people with financial support quickly and compassionately. Those nearing the end of their lives can get fast-track access to a range of benefits without needing a face-to-face assessment or waiting period, with the majority of individuals receiving the highest rate of those benefits.
“From April, we extended that support for Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit, and in this week’s Queen’s Speech, we announced similar changes to Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, meaning thousands more people at the end of life will be able to access these benefits earlier.
“In addition, the Government is taking decisive action to ease pressures on the cost of living, including spending £22bn across the next financial year to support people with energy bills and cut fuel duty, and our £1bn Household Support Fund is helping the most vulnerable with essential costs.”
* You can sign the Marie Curie petition by visiting here.
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