If you can't stand the Heat
Live with a Pensioner this Winter
Live with a Pensioner this Winter
Friday, 19 September 2008
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Inflation rise will force more older people into poverty
Britain's biggest older people's organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), claims that millions of older people are now on the brink of poverty, following the latest figures released today showing a further increase in inflation.
The official poverty figures show that 2.5m (23% of the pensioner population) are living on less than £151 a week. Up to 61% of all pensioner couples have an annual income of £15,000, whilst 45% of all single pensioners live on just £10,000 a year.
Between 1997 and 2006, the number of people living in severe poverty – defined as living on less than 40% of median population income – increased by 600,000. The poorest quarter of pensioner households saw their incomes rise by less than 1% last year, well below inflation. The poorest single pensioners saw their real incomes drop by 4%.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: “Nearly three million pensioner households already spend over 10% of their income on energy and are living in fuel poverty. If you add onto household bills things like food and council tax, millions more older people could be using as much as 70% of their income just to keep their house warm and eat a decent meal[i]. That doesn’t leave very much at the end of the week to enjoy life.”
“The real reason pensioners are suffering is because they spend a higher proportion of their income on those items that are rising fastest – whilst the purchasing power of their state pension continues to decline. It’s a shocking indictment of the government’s pensions’ policy that the number of older people in poverty is higher now than five years ago and things look set to get worse. It’s time the government used the growing surplus in the national insurance fund to pay everyone a decent pension above the poverty line of £151 a week that rises every year in line with the greater of inflation or earnings. In light of the current increases in the costs of living – pensioners simply cannot afford to survive.”
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
[i] For a single pensioner living on the pension credit guarantee of £124.05 a week, fuel, food and council tax bills can equal as much as 70% of their annual income
The official poverty figures show that 2.5m (23% of the pensioner population) are living on less than £151 a week. Up to 61% of all pensioner couples have an annual income of £15,000, whilst 45% of all single pensioners live on just £10,000 a year.
Between 1997 and 2006, the number of people living in severe poverty – defined as living on less than 40% of median population income – increased by 600,000. The poorest quarter of pensioner households saw their incomes rise by less than 1% last year, well below inflation. The poorest single pensioners saw their real incomes drop by 4%.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: “Nearly three million pensioner households already spend over 10% of their income on energy and are living in fuel poverty. If you add onto household bills things like food and council tax, millions more older people could be using as much as 70% of their income just to keep their house warm and eat a decent meal[i]. That doesn’t leave very much at the end of the week to enjoy life.”
“The real reason pensioners are suffering is because they spend a higher proportion of their income on those items that are rising fastest – whilst the purchasing power of their state pension continues to decline. It’s a shocking indictment of the government’s pensions’ policy that the number of older people in poverty is higher now than five years ago and things look set to get worse. It’s time the government used the growing surplus in the national insurance fund to pay everyone a decent pension above the poverty line of £151 a week that rises every year in line with the greater of inflation or earnings. In light of the current increases in the costs of living – pensioners simply cannot afford to survive.”
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
[i] For a single pensioner living on the pension credit guarantee of £124.05 a week, fuel, food and council tax bills can equal as much as 70% of their annual income
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Pensioners need immediate financial help with paying fuel bills
Pensioners need immediate financial help with paying fuel bills
– not energy efficiency schemes - which will take years to install - at the present performance of regional central heating projects!!!
Britain's biggest older people's organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has called on the government to ensure its package of measures aimed at helping families meet rising fuel bills (due to be announced tomorrow) includes an immediate increase in the winter fuel allowance to £500 for all pensioner households.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Many older people are already struggling to pay their energy bills and the recent increases are likely to drag well over a million more into financial hardship by the end of the year. Around 2.4m pensioner households are currently spending more than 10% of their income on fuel bills, and are living in fuel poverty. What these people need now is more money – in the form of the winter fuel allowance so that they can avoid having to decide whether to heat or eat. Energy efficiency schemes won’t help them pay their bills this month and neither will they prevent over 20,000 pensioners dying from the cold this winter.”
"Every time there is a 1% increase in energy bills, a further 40,000 older people fall into fuel poverty. It's time the government intervened to prevent the energy companies making profits at the expense of vulnerable pensioners, raised the winter fuel allowance to £500 and regulated social tariffs to give proper discounts to older customers."
FUEL POVERTY FACTS
– not energy efficiency schemes - which will take years to install - at the present performance of regional central heating projects!!!
Britain's biggest older people's organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has called on the government to ensure its package of measures aimed at helping families meet rising fuel bills (due to be announced tomorrow) includes an immediate increase in the winter fuel allowance to £500 for all pensioner households.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Many older people are already struggling to pay their energy bills and the recent increases are likely to drag well over a million more into financial hardship by the end of the year. Around 2.4m pensioner households are currently spending more than 10% of their income on fuel bills, and are living in fuel poverty. What these people need now is more money – in the form of the winter fuel allowance so that they can avoid having to decide whether to heat or eat. Energy efficiency schemes won’t help them pay their bills this month and neither will they prevent over 20,000 pensioners dying from the cold this winter.”
"Every time there is a 1% increase in energy bills, a further 40,000 older people fall into fuel poverty. It's time the government intervened to prevent the energy companies making profits at the expense of vulnerable pensioners, raised the winter fuel allowance to £500 and regulated social tariffs to give proper discounts to older customers."
FUEL POVERTY FACTS
- Nearly 90 per cent of all excess winter deaths are of people over the age of 65.
- There were 22,300 excess winter deaths of older people last year, and 260,000 since 1997.
- Almost one in three older people live in homes with inadequate heating or insulation making their homes more difficult to heat and/or keep warm.
- More than 1 in 4 people living in fuel poverty are over 70 years old
- Average annual energy bills now exceed £1,000. This will absorb 16 per cent of the income of a single pensioner dependent on the pension credit minimum guarantee and the current £250 Winter Fuel Payment.
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
Friday, 8 August 2008
Foreign fuel giants accused of ripping off Britons
Foreign energy firms have been accused of 'picking the pockets' of 11 million British customers while capping price rises in their home countries.
French-owned EDF has announced a 22 per cent rise in gas bills and 17 per cent on electricity for its 5.5million UK users.
At the same time, it has secretly raised gas prices for some of its most vulnerable customers by as much as 75 per cent.
The increases are in stark contrast to the situation in France.
EDF has been told by the government there to cap its increases on electricity to just 2 per cent and gas to 5 per cent.
There are fears the company, which is part-owned by the French government, is looking to protect its profits by imposing punishing increases on UK families.
The price cap in France will not stop EDF imposing big rises in the cost of electricity it sells to Britain via a cable under the Channel.
The increases were strongly criticised yesterday by Ed Mayo, chief of the National Consumer Council.
'Closed and protectionist European energy markets end up picking the pockets of consumers in this country,' he said.
He suggested Britain should consider introducing French-style price caps. 'If the French are capping prices, that is something we should be looking at. We should learn from the French,' he said.
'My concerns are for people on fixed income, such as pensioners, who will be switching off their electricity and heating this winter. That will lead to more illness and disease.'
Mr Mayo said foreign owned power companies - such as EDF, RWE Npower and E.on of Germany, and Iberdrola of Spain, which owns Scottish Power - must show they are not raising prices in the UK to subsidise customers in other countries.
Criticism has also been levelled at the German government for failing to open its energy market to competition.
He was speaking at a press conference to announce the name of a new 'super-watchdog', Consumer Focus, which will replace the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch.
EDF, like the other 'big six' power suppliers, has a series of tariffs linked to the amount of gas that customers use.
It has increased the charge for 132,000 low users by up to 75 per cent - taking the charges up from 3.984p per kilowatt hour to 7p. A low-user customer who perhaps only has gas for a cooker will see the annual bill rise from £106.77 a year to £187.60.
EDF customer Philip Williams, 69, who lives alone in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I got the bill and found the price had gone up by 75 per cent, not 22 per cent as we were told. I've had no notice that it would go up this much.
'During the winter months my bills will go through the roof.'
Consumer group Energywatch said: 'The message this sends out is that people who try to be careful and cut down on their use of gas end up getting penalised with bigger increases in bills than everyone else.
'All the evidence is that energy companies are disregarding the needs of their most vulnerable customers.'
LibDem energy spokesman Steve Webb suggested firms such as EDF may try to boost profits in Britain to counter price caps in their home countries.
'EDF will have to make up the shortfall somehow,' he said. 'They may have to look to customers in Britain.'
The 'big six' power suppliers also charge more than 3.5million customers who have prepayment meters around £150 a year more for their heat and light compared with those who pay via direct debit.
These firms offer social tariffs which are supposed to cut the bills of the estimated 4.5million households which are in fuel poverty.
However, the deals are wrapped in small print with the result that only a tiny fraction of eligible households are signed up.
A spokesman for EDF denied UK customers will subsidise those in France. He said both are standalone profitable businesses.
He added: 'EDF Energy has always taken its responsibility to vulnerable customers very seriously and has gone far beyond regulatory obligations to support customers struggling to pay energy bills and to keep warm.'
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23528800-details/%27Pickpocket%27+foreign+fuel+giants+accused+of+ripping+off+Britons+to+keep+energy+bills+down+at+home/article.do
French-owned EDF has announced a 22 per cent rise in gas bills and 17 per cent on electricity for its 5.5million UK users.
At the same time, it has secretly raised gas prices for some of its most vulnerable customers by as much as 75 per cent.
The increases are in stark contrast to the situation in France.
EDF has been told by the government there to cap its increases on electricity to just 2 per cent and gas to 5 per cent.
There are fears the company, which is part-owned by the French government, is looking to protect its profits by imposing punishing increases on UK families.
The price cap in France will not stop EDF imposing big rises in the cost of electricity it sells to Britain via a cable under the Channel.
The increases were strongly criticised yesterday by Ed Mayo, chief of the National Consumer Council.
'Closed and protectionist European energy markets end up picking the pockets of consumers in this country,' he said.
He suggested Britain should consider introducing French-style price caps. 'If the French are capping prices, that is something we should be looking at. We should learn from the French,' he said.
'My concerns are for people on fixed income, such as pensioners, who will be switching off their electricity and heating this winter. That will lead to more illness and disease.'
Mr Mayo said foreign owned power companies - such as EDF, RWE Npower and E.on of Germany, and Iberdrola of Spain, which owns Scottish Power - must show they are not raising prices in the UK to subsidise customers in other countries.
Criticism has also been levelled at the German government for failing to open its energy market to competition.
He was speaking at a press conference to announce the name of a new 'super-watchdog', Consumer Focus, which will replace the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch.
EDF, like the other 'big six' power suppliers, has a series of tariffs linked to the amount of gas that customers use.
It has increased the charge for 132,000 low users by up to 75 per cent - taking the charges up from 3.984p per kilowatt hour to 7p. A low-user customer who perhaps only has gas for a cooker will see the annual bill rise from £106.77 a year to £187.60.
EDF customer Philip Williams, 69, who lives alone in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I got the bill and found the price had gone up by 75 per cent, not 22 per cent as we were told. I've had no notice that it would go up this much.
'During the winter months my bills will go through the roof.'
Consumer group Energywatch said: 'The message this sends out is that people who try to be careful and cut down on their use of gas end up getting penalised with bigger increases in bills than everyone else.
'All the evidence is that energy companies are disregarding the needs of their most vulnerable customers.'
LibDem energy spokesman Steve Webb suggested firms such as EDF may try to boost profits in Britain to counter price caps in their home countries.
'EDF will have to make up the shortfall somehow,' he said. 'They may have to look to customers in Britain.'
The 'big six' power suppliers also charge more than 3.5million customers who have prepayment meters around £150 a year more for their heat and light compared with those who pay via direct debit.
These firms offer social tariffs which are supposed to cut the bills of the estimated 4.5million households which are in fuel poverty.
However, the deals are wrapped in small print with the result that only a tiny fraction of eligible households are signed up.
A spokesman for EDF denied UK customers will subsidise those in France. He said both are standalone profitable businesses.
He added: 'EDF Energy has always taken its responsibility to vulnerable customers very seriously and has gone far beyond regulatory obligations to support customers struggling to pay energy bills and to keep warm.'
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23528800-details/%27Pickpocket%27+foreign+fuel+giants+accused+of+ripping+off+Britons+to+keep+energy+bills+down+at+home/article.do
Sunday, 3 August 2008
The Forgotten Legion of Pensioners
From Yorkshire Post
by JE Faulkner, Fen Lane, Mareham le Fen, Boston, Lincolnshire.
I REALLY feel it is time that people are aware of a certain large number of people that are badly overlooked by everyone in the "dash for cash" that is developing rapidly in this wonderful country of ours.We have to go to the same supermarkets and shops, garages and filling stations as everyone else does. We don't have a trade union to hold us all together and strike, it would be devastating if we did.
We, or a lot of us, are still paying income tax because we have been prudent in the past for our future. We are finding that prudence of ours rapidly diminishing due to tax and yet more tax, expensive food, expensive petrol and diesel and our increasing energy prices.
Who are "we", you might ask. "We" are the forgotten legion of pensioners in this country who have been forgotten by successive governments or who paid us a 25p increase in our state pension. If "grey power" could be organised countrywide somehow, it would woe betide the government who treated us with the contempt we now have to endure.
Little attention is paid to us until hundreds start to die due to cold weather when it is either heat or eat. Only then do people become aware of the pensioner's plight and sympathise but that sympathy quickly evaporates.
by JE Faulkner, Fen Lane, Mareham le Fen, Boston, Lincolnshire.
I REALLY feel it is time that people are aware of a certain large number of people that are badly overlooked by everyone in the "dash for cash" that is developing rapidly in this wonderful country of ours.We have to go to the same supermarkets and shops, garages and filling stations as everyone else does. We don't have a trade union to hold us all together and strike, it would be devastating if we did.
We, or a lot of us, are still paying income tax because we have been prudent in the past for our future. We are finding that prudence of ours rapidly diminishing due to tax and yet more tax, expensive food, expensive petrol and diesel and our increasing energy prices.
Who are "we", you might ask. "We" are the forgotten legion of pensioners in this country who have been forgotten by successive governments or who paid us a 25p increase in our state pension. If "grey power" could be organised countrywide somehow, it would woe betide the government who treated us with the contempt we now have to endure.
Little attention is paid to us until hundreds start to die due to cold weather when it is either heat or eat. Only then do people become aware of the pensioner's plight and sympathise but that sympathy quickly evaporates.
Monday, 30 June 2008
Pensioners launch new care campaign
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has launched a new campaign entitled Care Free, to coincide with the government's six month's consultation on the future of care and support services. The Care Free campaign will:- Reject the use of means-testing and call for care to be properly funded by central government to provide free services to all without the use of rationing criteria
- Recognise that the use of personal budgets are not universally suitable or the best way of providing the right type of care for all users
- Demand the postcode lottery in provision of care is ended and replaced with national standards of access and quality of services
- Call for recognition and support, both in financial and practical terms, for the families and carers of users
- Champion the need for properly trained, supervised and paid staff to assess, enable and care for users
- Promote appropriate care to Britain’s diverse pensioner population
"Care in this country is still treated like a Cinderella service, which has been under funded and overlooked for years. But those who need the care know that the postcode lottery on access to services, the differing charges around the country, the varying standards of care and the continued use of means-testing are simply intolerable. The government has introduced an artificial dividing line between personal and nursing care when all care should be provided free - and no-one should be expected to sell their home simply to pay for care that in hospital they would get free of charge."
1 in 3 of future pensioners face poverty in retirement
Britain's biggest older people's organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has claimed that today's Scottish Widows’ survey showing that 1 in 3 people cannot afford to save for their retirement, is further evidence that the government’s pensions’ policy is beginning to unravel.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Most financial experts agree that you need a pension pot of about £100,000 to provide an income in retirement of around £6000 a year, but millions of today’s workers – even those in occupational pension schemes – will not get anywhere near that amount. The government’s entire pensions’ policy has relied on means-tested benefits and good company pensions to take people out of poverty in retirement – but this approach is now beginning to unravel. A third of pensioners will still be means-tested in 2050 and good company pension schemes are becoming a thing of the past.”
“The latest figures show that 1 in 4 pensioners already live below the poverty line of £151 a week – 62% of pensioner couples get by on £10,000 or less each year and it looks as if future generations will be even worse off than their parents and grandparents. Rising fuel, food and council tax bills are pushing people further into financial hardship, yet the government’s answer to this looming pensions’ crisis is to tell people to work longer, by raising the age of retirement to 68.”
“A strengthened national insurance based state pension set above the poverty level and linked to earnings offers the most effective way of giving everyone – both now and in the future – real financial security and dignity in retirement.”
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Most financial experts agree that you need a pension pot of about £100,000 to provide an income in retirement of around £6000 a year, but millions of today’s workers – even those in occupational pension schemes – will not get anywhere near that amount. The government’s entire pensions’ policy has relied on means-tested benefits and good company pensions to take people out of poverty in retirement – but this approach is now beginning to unravel. A third of pensioners will still be means-tested in 2050 and good company pension schemes are becoming a thing of the past.”
“The latest figures show that 1 in 4 pensioners already live below the poverty line of £151 a week – 62% of pensioner couples get by on £10,000 or less each year and it looks as if future generations will be even worse off than their parents and grandparents. Rising fuel, food and council tax bills are pushing people further into financial hardship, yet the government’s answer to this looming pensions’ crisis is to tell people to work longer, by raising the age of retirement to 68.”
“A strengthened national insurance based state pension set above the poverty level and linked to earnings offers the most effective way of giving everyone – both now and in the future – real financial security and dignity in retirement.”
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