Fabian Society pensioner tax reponse
Published on 22 April 2013 02:00 PM
Responding to reports that the Fabian Society is calling for better-off older people to pay more tax, Age Cymru's Director of Influencing and Programme Development Victoria Lloyd says:
"The Fabian Society is right to point out that there has been significant progress in tackling pensioner poverty in recent years.
"However in Wales there are still 100,000 pensioners living in poverty, and around 1 in 5 older people here have incomes below the relative poverty line.
"80,000 pensioners in Wales also rely solely on the state pension and other government benefits and have no other source of income.
"It is important to remember that it can be difficult for older people to change their financial plans as their options are likely to be very limited.
"They have also contributed national insurance payments throughout their working lives to receive in return a state pension that ensures a financial safety net but little more."