Welfare is not a competition – both young and old need protecting from poverty

Across the UK, two million pensioners live in poverty, with a further million experiencing financial hardship. People in this situation are cutting back on meals, living in damp, cold homes and sitting in the dark to save money. Independent Age’s Keys to the Future report predicted the number of pensioners below the poverty line could rise to almost four million by 2040 if current trends continue. 

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Lots of the people we support will hugely value the winter fuel payment being returned to them, but many of the people Independent Age speaks to were struggling to make ends meet before they lost this payment, so receiving it again sadly won’t transform their lives.  

Progress is being made. The recent Independent Water Commission recommended a national social tariff for England and a review to do similar in Wales. This is something Independent Age has been calling for in recent years and would bring down high water bills for people of all ages living on a low income. We also welcome the recently announced Pensions Commission and hope it brings about much needed change that will benefit the older people of tomorrow. But the outcomes of this commission won’t impact people currently in later life, and they too need change. 

In the short-term older people on low income need to see local housing allowance covering at least the cheapest 30% of local rents, financial support with their energy bills and a social security system that is simpler to navigate so they receive all the money they are entitled to. These policies would also benefit other age groups. 

Everybody can and should have an adequate income to give them the opportunity to live well with dignity, choice, and purpose. We cannot allow a hierarchy of need to crystalise, where one group is deemed more worthy of help than another. The younger people in poverty today are at risk of facing poverty in later life unless we act.  Division is dangerous – poverty is corrosive and needs to be tackled not only for those facing it directly but for our society as a whole.

Joanna Elson is chief executive at Independent Age. 

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