Taking our calls to conference

As the Labour, Conservative and SNP party conferences get underway over the next few weeks, our Public Affairs Manager, Shelley Hopkinson, discusses what Independent Age colleagues hope to achieve there.

As an organisation focused on supporting older people who face financial hardship, there couldn’t be a more critical time to get our policy calls in front of decision-makers.

We’ll have a team of people from Independent Age at the Labour, Conservative and SNP conferences ready to ask the difficult questions and pitch solutions that we believe will make the biggest difference to people in later life, especially those on a low income.

We’re also taking part in several fringe events where we’ll be discussing our research on poverty in later life, the cost-of-living crisis, our call for an Older People’s Commissioner, and what needs to change to better support older people to cope with bereavement.

The spiralling cost of living

In recent months, we have heard from older people who are making increasingly difficult choices. From cutting back on food and turning off their heating and electrical appliances this winter, to being unable to socialise with friends and family.

Like many other organisations supporting people who are really struggling at the moment, we’ve been focusing on amplifying the voices of the older people we speak to, to influence politicians. As a result, the cost-of-living crisis has rightly been high on the government’s agenda and the Energy Price Guarantee announced by Liz Truss earlier this month, along with existing support for older people in receipt of means tested benefits, will provide some much-needed breathing space.

But this emergency support is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s essential that we and others maintain pressure on the government to address the rising cost of living or their attention could move on to other issues.

For some older people on the lowest income there simply isn’t the bandwidth to endure higher living costs for other things like food, rent or water bills. And there is still a risk that the increase in energy costs could cause some people, for example those on pre-payment meters, to feel that they have no choice but to significantly ration their energy use to afford their bills.

Simply put, the government must ensure those on the lowest income have enough money to live on. This includes the amount people get through their State Pension and means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit. We are calling for the amount of money people receive to more closely match the current inflation rate, and therefore the current cost of living.

The political party conferences provide an opportunity for us to discuss solutions to these pressing issues with members of Parliament, local government, and other policy makers.

Poverty in later life

It has been necessary to focus attention on the current crisis and it will be for some time to come. But we know from speaking to older people that too many were already struggling before the sharp increase in living costs, with the impact of financial insecurity affecting every aspect of their life including their mental health.

“On a knife edge, shall we say. I can just about survive, but I’m worried.”

Adrian, 66

Since 2012, there has been a slow but steady rise in relative income poverty and latest figures show that more than 2 million people in later life are living in poverty.

Shockingly, our latest research found that 40% pensioners spent at least one year in poverty during the last decade.

A strategy for Pension Credit

Our research with City University London, also found that changes in social benefit income is the biggest single cause of older people entering and exiting poverty. That’s part of the reason we’re calling on the government to deliver a strategic action plan to address low take-up of Pension Credit, which is a financial top up for those in later life on low income.

Up to a third of eligible people in Great Britain continue to miss out on the Pension Credit they’re entitled to, according to latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures. In the last 10 years, roughly £28 billion in Pension Credit has failed to reach those who are entitled to it.

We also fear that these people will continue to miss out on targeted cost of living support from government to help with the rising prices, because the government identify older people on low income by looking at those who receive Pension Credit, despite almost 40% of eligible people not getting it.

We welcome the DWP’s recent awareness raising and the role that MPs and councillors are playing in highlighting this financial support to their constituents. But future action to increase Pension Credit uptake must form part of a national strategy and be based on evidence if we’re to see rapid and meaningful change.

It’s clear that people in later life facing financial hardship have been let down in recent years and their voices have not always been heard. As our ageing society becomes increasingly diverse, we need a vision for guaranteeing financial security in later life and a champion for their interests.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with our colleagues at the Centre for Ageing Better to deliver events at conference aimed at highlighting the experiences of people in later life.

Together, we’re setting out a bold vision for an Older People’s Commissioner in Westminster, working alongside the devolved nations, to help make the UK the best place in the world to grow old.

You can find out more about our key calls on government by visiting our website: www.independentage.org/conference