Cost of living
Published on 10 April 2012 08:30 AM
Responding to a report over the Easter weekend that the cost of running a home in Wales has increased by 5.9% in the last four years - greater than anywhere else in mainland Britain, Age Cymru's Head of Policy and Public Affairs Graeme Francis says:
"The increasing cost of living is having a particularly severe impact on many older people who are surviving on a fixed income.
"1 in 5 older people living alone rely entirely on the state pension and associated entitlements, while many others only have modest personal pensions which lift them just above the poverty line.
"These people are hit particularly hard by the fact that the rising cost of living in Wales is outstripping inflation, especially because benefits and personal pension increases are now linked to the lower measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
"We know that for many people the escalating costs of energy have played a major role in eroding their income in recent years.
"Many older people also rely on interest from the often modest savings they have built up.
"These people have been being hit particularly hard since 2009 with interest rates remaining at an historically low level.
"The experience of this group will be doing nothing to encourage increased levels of saving for older age."