THE Tory government has been condemned for failing to tackle the “injustice” of pensioner poverty in last week’s King’s Speech.
In Scotland, poverty rates have doubled among pensioners in Scotland over the past two years.
A survey in August by Age Scotland identified that 39% of over 65s are living in fuel poverty in 2023, compared with the last available set of Scottish Government figures for 2021 (19%).
“Too many older people have their lives impacted by the devastating effects of poverty but we have seen little to no progress to tangibly address this in recent years,” said Age Scotland chief executive Katherine Crawford.
“It’s unacceptable that we are rapidly heading towards a society in which one in every six pensioners in Scotland is living in relative poverty and it is clear much more attention is needed to drive this down.
“The cost of living crisis is already taking a huge toll on older people’s financial wellbeing and, as we head towards what will undoubtedly be another difficult winter, there is a real concern that an increasing number of older people will be forced to make impossible decisions between heating their homes and other essentials.”
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, said high inflation was causing misery for people on low incomes in later life up and down the country.
“Our helpline receives regular calls from frightened older people making desperate cutbacks just to get by,” she said.
“We have heard harrowing stories of people sitting in the dark or washing less to save money, one person even resorted to eating dog food because it’s less costly. As older people in financial hardship brace for another tough winter, the UK Government has failed to recognise their plight by not setting out how it will tackle stubbornly high costs into next year and beyond.
“With more than two million older people living in poverty and at least another million living on the edge, systemic change is needed, and unfortunately, the government didn’t reveal anything in the King’s Speech that will tackle the injustice of pensioner poverty, which has been gradually rising for a decade.”
Age Scotland said the Scottish Government could help by developing a pensioner poverty strategy which includes a national benefits uptake campaign.
“Breaking down barriers to claiming support and ensuring older people are able to boost their income is key to lifting more pensioners out of poverty,” said Crawford.
“Ending pensioner poverty is a complex challenge that requires efforts on all fronts but failing to take action puts huge numbers of older people at risk of ill health, financial insecurity and falling into unmanageable debt.
“It’s vital that older people are claiming every penny of financial support they are entitled to, and a quick call to our free 0800 1244 222 helpline can help make sure you are not missing out.”
