Age UK calls for more support for older people battling with the cold and high energy bills
Age UK is calling for older people who are struggling with the cold and energy bills to ask for help after its research revealed that the cost-of-living crisis is far from over.
In a new report, Age UK warned that older people living in a household with an income less than £20,000 per year and not in receipt of means-tested benefits, have faced particularly steep challenges with managing through recent times.
Research for the charity found that almost a third (29%) of over-60s report that their home was too cold most or all the time; with almost half (49%) of them worried about the impact of energy bills on their health. Of those surveyed, 59 per cent reported they are worried about their ability to heat their home and 47 per cent were worried about being able to afford wider essentials like food.
Older people are much more likely to report having to cut back on food/groceries, transport and vehicle costs (30%), and other household bills (18%) and 40 per cent reported feeling anxious about energy bills.
Age UK’s new report, Cold at Home: How winter cost of living pressures continue to impact older people, discusses its concerns about the ongoing impact on older people who are not receiving support from the benefits system.
Many of these people are likely to be eligible for support but will still be missing out for a whole variety of reasons. Government figures show that an estimated 800,000 pensioners are eligible for pension credit but are missing out on this much needed support.
Age UK’s latest estimates show that even with prices expected to come down slightly this year there will still be 1.9 million older households in the UK living in fuel poverty during 2024, representing around 16% of all older households in the UK.
With the Spring Budget and the General Election fast approaching, Age UK is calling for all political parties to commit to raising the standards of living for those older people who are most disadvantaged – especially those who are not claiming means-tested benefits.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Over the past few years spiralling energy prices have made life extremely tough for older people who face hardship because of unavoidably high energy bills. Those on lower fixed incomes, and anyone living with disabilities or long-term health conditions has been hit particularly hard.
“Keeping warm at home is vital for a comfortable, healthy later life but today it remains beyond the reach of millions of older people.
“Energy prices remain too high for many, and it seems there’s no prospect of a return to the much lower bills of a few years ago.
“The government needs to face up to this reality, distress and anxiety it is causing millions of older people, who now view each coming winter with dread.
“More than six in 10 over-65s want the government to introduce an energy social tariff so that they can be confident of staying warm at home during the colder months. Age UK agrees with them.”
“We must not sleep walk into a situation in this country in which it is seen as ‘normal’ for an older person to have to shiver through the cold in their own home.
“If the government brings in a funded social tariff for energy it can consign such misery to the past, and that’s what we think the chancellor should do as part of his Spring Budget.”
