What does long-term security look like for older people?
In the second of our General Election blogs, we look at what long-term security looks like for older people. Our Campaigns Officer, Josh Murray, explains how introducing single social tariffs, establishing an adequate income in later life, and strengthening laws around renting can provide this much-needed certainty.
We know there are around two million older people who are in poverty in the UK. That’s enough to fill Cardiff, Glasgow and Birmingham combined.
Whoever wins the next election, it’s key they take the needs of older people in financial hardship seriously. On top of making sure everyone gets the support they’re entitled to, it’s clear older people need long-term financial security.
We’re calling on the next UK Government to establish a cross-bench commission to establish what an adequate income is in later life.
Our report, ‘The hidden two million’ shows that particular groups are more likely to experience poverty in later life, and in many cases these groups rely on nothing more than the State Pension and entitlements like Pension Credit as their income.
Establishing what income is needed to live well in later life will help us to understand where older people are being left behind, and to develop a plan to ensure we all can live well in older age.
For people of all ages, rising costs have meant we’ve all felt the pinch on our budgets. But for older people on a low, fixed income, there are limited options to pay for the essentials.
While there is support available from water companies, people are often unaware of schemes such as WaterSure, and eligibility varies depending on where you live. Legislating for a single social tariff on water will go a long way to helping give older people the peace of mind they need; that they’ll have enough money to live well.
We also know that older private renters are much more likely to experience financial hardship, and so the next UK Government must offer them more protections as a priority.
Providing renters with better security in their homes, by ending no-fault evictions and eliminating discrimination in the rental market, as well as ensuring a system that’s more affordable, can make a massive difference.
The stakes here are high. We recently released our ‘Keys to the future’ report which shows the number of older people in poverty will double to 3.9 million people, if things don’t change.
Whoever wins the next UK General Election, we’ll do our best to campaign on the issues that matter to the two million older people living in poverty. And we hope you will join us too!
If you haven’t already, please do email your local candidates to ask them to prioritise poverty in later life.
We’re always happy to hear about your campaigning efforts, and the responses you hear from local candidates, so get in touch if you have anything you want to share with us.
