Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The number of pensioners in poverty has now passed the two million mark, with Black and Asian older people most at risk of struggling financially in later life, according to analysis by charity, Age UK.
The charity is working with the DWP to encourage pensioners on low incomes to see if they can receive a Pension Credit top-up, and boost uptake of a benefit that can typically take an older person who receives it above the poverty line. Being found to be eligible for Pension Credit also acts as a gateway to some other benefits, potentially transforming an older person’s standard of living.
Since 2013/14, the number of pensioners in poverty has risen by almost a third (31 per cent) from 1.6 million. Official figures show that a third of Asian older people (33 per cent) and just under a third of Black older people (30 per cent) in the UK live below the poverty line, compared to 16 per cent of White older people. The over-85s, renters, and single, female pensioners, are also at greater risk of poverty than the older population as a whole. The total number of older people living in poverty in the UK now stands at 2.1 million.
Despite these high numbers and recent government figures showing that nearly a million older people could not afford an unexpected bill of £200, nearly a million (920,000) pensioner households are missing out on Pension Credit payments worth up to £1.6 billion every year – that’s an average of £32 a week, or over £1,600 a year, per recipient.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said “The numbers of older people living in poverty have risen steadily in the last few years, so they now top two million. That’s a lot of older people worried sick about how they’ll cope if their heating or their cooker breaks down and needs replacing, more than the entire populations of Newcastle and Liverpool put together.”
“It’s sad to realise that the burden of poverty in old age is falling disproportionately on Black and Asian older people in our society at the moment. For their sake and, indeed, for the sake of anyone forced to scrimp and save in their later years, we should do everything possible to raise their incomes, so they can enjoy the dignified and comfortable retirement they deserve.”
“It’s deeply frustrating that the money is available to top up the incomes of pensioners who live on the lowest incomes but that much of it goes begging every year because many never claim what is rightfully theirs. We really do want older people to obtain their full entitlements, particularly Pension Credit because this can open the door to additional support – but that means putting in a claim.”
“There are many reasons why older people don’t claim, including lack of awareness, worry about filling in long forms or disclosing personal information, feeling there is always someone worse off than they are, or being determined not to ask for help, even though in reality they badly need it.”
