Elderly at Risk from High Inflation
 |
October 4, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
An MP has warned that older people who live off their savings could be increasingly vulnerable due to high inflation.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith expressed his concern over the potential impact of increasing inflation on elderly people who live off their savings in the UK, when addressing a fringe Conservative party conference on Monday.
“I absolutely accept that too many people with finite savings will be losing out because of the cost of this. The cost of living is rising for people who have no income or no possibility of earning money,” said Mr Duncan Smith.
The Conservative MP stated during the conference that the rush for growth in the UK economy has pushed the problem of inflation “into the background”.
A spokesperson from Welsh charity Age Cymru told The Fresh Outlook that many older people are facing difficulties because of the economic crisis, but are not claiming benefits that they are entitled to: “119,000 elderly people in England and Wales are living in poverty; many of these people are not claiming the state benefits that they are entitled to. Every year 5.4 billion pounds of state benefit intended for the elderly goes unclaimed. We’re not saying this is the answer, but people need to go and claim the money they are entitled to.
“Many people assume that they aren’t entitled to any state benefit or assume the money they would be getting is from a charity; state benefit is not a charity it is their entitlement and people should not be ashamed about collecting benefits. What we really want is a higher state pension, we know it doesn’t solve the problem but people should get in touch with their local authorities or Age UK.”
Widower Judy Collins told The Fresh Outlook that she doesn’t live off her savings entirely, but is worried about her fixed pension that she receives on behalf of her late husband: “Luckily I don’t live off savings alone, however; my husbands pension is fixed, so if inflation went up a lot in the next few years everything is going to cost more but my income is basically static, which is worrying.”
Age Cymru states that the number of people living off their savings has dropped drastically due to the economic crisis. “The worst problem is that older people don’t like to say they are struggling to make ends meet,” said the spokesperson from Age Cyrmru.
For more information on benefits for the elderly, visit the Age UK website www.ageuk.org.
By Ben Perks
[Image courtesy of Brian Minkoff - London Pixels]
