55 per cent of over 60s 'struggling to make ends meet'

New research commissioned by Age UK shows the realities of how older people manage   living on a low income as a new poll reveals that over a half (55 per cent) of people aged 60 and over are finding it harder to manage their regular outgoings compared to this time last year.

According to an ICM poll carried out to coincide with the Age UK report “Living on a Low Income in Later Life” nearly one in ten (9 per cent)  people aged 60 and over admit to be either “finding it  quite difficult” or “really struggling” to manage on their income. 

As rising prices squeeze incomes across the UK, an estimated 4.5 million of older people (33 per cent) can only just afford to buy the basics.

The new Age UK report is based on interviews and discussion groups and paints a picture of lives that revolve around making every penny count.

All the people interviewed by the researchers talk of cutting back, doing without and making do while at the same time worrying about the cost of energy bills and buying food.

This is something that is confirmed by the polling as nearly one in seven older people (14 per cent) admit  they have gone to bed when they weren’t tired to keep warm and almost the same number (13 per cent) admit to living in just one room to save on heating.

The report highlights examples of “making do” such as just using a hob or microwave rather that replacing a broken oven and boiling a kettle for washing rather than heating water in a boiler.

While those interviewed by the report researchers talk of seeking out the best bargains when food shopping and timing their shopping for the end of the day when products are marked down, the supporting polling reveals that around 3.1 million people (23 per cent) aged 60 and over have bought less food than they wanted and over half of those interviewed (55 per cent) have moved to cheaper brands in the last year.

The survey also says that nearly one in five (18 per cent) of those aged 60 and over would find it difficult to pay an unexpected bill of £150.

Graeme Francis, Head of Public Affairs and Policy at Age Cymru said:

“Living on a low income is hard work.

"Currently there are 1.8 million people in later life living in poverty in the UK but this polling suggests that many above the official poverty line are finding life hard.

"Older people tend to show a great deal of resilience in managing in their money and eke out their income but this new report demonstrates exactly how emotionally draining it is on for older people to constantly survive on a lower income and  how many are  fearful of the future in the current economic." climate.”

ENDS

CONTACT
For all media enquiries, please contact Iwan Rhys Roberts, Communications Officer – Age Cymru, on 029 2043 1562, 07739 894 923, iwan.roberts@agecymru.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The report ‘Living on a low income in later life’ can be found at www.ageuk.org.uk/. It has been produced for Age UK by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University and includes in-depth interviews with 25 people and five focus group discussions with people aged between 65 and 87
2. .1003 adults were interviewed by ICM research 13-15 January 2012 (Great Britain) Population estimates from mid-2010 population estimates for Greta Britain, Office for National Statistics 2010 (60+ = 13,714,4010). As the percentages are rounded , the population numbers have been rounded as well to one decimal report.