A pensioner has told of how a rat infestation in her home keeps her away at night in the flat she shares with her husband.
Raija says she has been forced to cook in her front room because of holes in her kitchen floor.
The 70-year-old, from Birmingham, has lived in the flat with her 87-year-old husband for 20 years and said they felt trapped.
She claimed the landlord refused to repair their problems, despite the "appalling" conditions.
Raija has made a heartbreaking plea saying: "We just want somewhere clean so we can die in peace".
Their story was told in Independent Age's new "The Hidden Two Million" report, which highlights the reality of financial hardship in later life.
It comes as more than two million older people live below the poverty line, according to the charity.
The charity has not fully named the couple or detailed their exact location or landlord for security reasons.
Raija said: "My husband and I have been renting this house through an agency for the past 20 years.
"It's deteriorated a lot in that time, but the landlord refuses to do any repairs. I have to do all the cooking in the front room because there are holes in the kitchen floor so big my foot goes straight through.
"The roof leaks, the walls are full of mould, and rats keep me awake at night. It's not safe for us to stay here, but we can’t leave because we have nowhere to go.
"My husband is 87 and in the hospital quite a bit. When he's home, he needs to keep warm. I put the heating on, but the house stays cold. When he's not here, I switch it off to save money.
"We both get Pension Credit and I get disability benefits - but the heating bills and food prices keep increasing. We're desperate to move out. The only thing we want is to live somewhere clean and die in peace."
Independent Age is a national charity providing support for older people facing financial hardship.
It has warned of an increasing number of older people with similar experiences to Rajia calling the helpline.
Statistics that were released in March showed how in 2021/2022, 2.1 million pensioners, or 18 per cent, lived in poverty across the UK - 500,000 more than a decade ago.
Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE, Chair of Trustees at Independent Age, said: "We have been deeply disturbed by the steady increase in poverty rates among older people in the UK over the last several years.
"With the added burdens of falling home ownership and people being unable to save an adequate amount for retirement, we fear that the UK is sleepwalking toward a poverty precipice. When people fall into poverty after retirement they have few choices to raise their income.
"Often the only option available to them is to cut back or minimise their spending, even on essentials like food and energy. Nobody dreams of experiencing financial hardship when they grow older, and no one should have to face these choices in modern-day Britain, yet it is the reality for too many."
