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UK Pensioners Living Below Poverty Line
Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, reports in the Telegraph, 1.8 million pensioners live below the poverty line:
Despite
inflation falling slightly, the Retail Price Index is still at 5.3pc
with food and fuel rising rapidly, yet pensioners will only see the
basic state pension increase by 4.5pc this year and other benefits by
just 3.1pc.
In
fact, even the standard Retail Price Index can understate older
people's living costs. Age UK Enterprises' Silver RPI measure shows
that since 2008 inflation has been higher for older people than for
those under the age of 55. This is partly due to low mortgage
interest rates – which are less likely to impact on older people – as
well as cost increases on products and services like food and energy
that over-55s spend proportionately more on.
As a result, we know these are difficult times for many older people
and growing numbers are struggling to make ends meet. 1.8 million
pensioners live below the poverty line and research that Age UK will
release tomorrow shows millions more are teetering just above it.
Bills accrued over the cold winter months have put a huge amount of
pressure on people's finances and many are still paying the price
now.
Of
course the options to increase your income once you have retired are
few and far between. Nearly 1 million people are now working past 65
in part-time and full-time jobs in order to boost their retirement
incomes. But for many people in their 60s, ill health and caring
responsibilities for partners or elderly parents mean carrying on
working simply isn't an option.
To try to bring poorer pensioners' incomes to a decent level, the
Labour government introduced pension credit, which tops us low
incomes. Yet around a third of people who are eligible to claim the
top up aren't getting it, with up to £3 billion unclaimed. Likewise,
almost 2 million pensioners aren't claiming council tax benefit which
could save them an average of £728 a year.
The UKPA provides more details, reporting most pensioners 'just getting by':
Rising
living costs are causing hardship for British pensioners, with 58%
saying they are "just getting by" or worse, according to research.
A
study for Age UK has found that 47% of over-60s class themselves as
"just getting by", with a further 11% finding it difficult or "really
struggling" to cope financially.
The face-to-face survey of 1,258
people conducted last month shows nearly one in five pensioners, or
19%, cut back on heating this winter in order to make ends meet. The
same percentage said they are going out less in order to save money and
more than one in four, or 26%, said they are buying cheaper or less
food.
Among poorer pensioners, the
figures rose to more than a third, or 35%, buying cheaper or less food,
and 21% going out less. A total of 11% said they are in debt through
mortgage, credit cards or bank loans.
The findings have been
released to coincide with Age UK's More Money in Your Pocket campaign
aimed at encouraging over-60s to claim all the benefits they are
entitled to after the charity found as much as £5.4 billion goes
unclaimed each year.
Just under a half
of pensioners are entitled to pension credit, the top-up for people on
low incomes, but a third of people eligible for the benefit do not
claim it, according to Age UK.
Up to 1.97 million pensioners are
also missing out on council tax benefit worth £1.5 billion a year - if
claimed this could boost their income by an average of £728 a year, it
calculated, while up to 350,000 older people are entitled to housing
benefit but are not receiving it.
Michelle Mitchell, Age UK
charity director, said: "At a time when so many people are struggling
financially, it is unacceptable that vital benefits are failing to reach
some of the poorest and most vulnerable older people in our society."
The
charity is urging older people seeking advice on benefits to get in
touch with their local Age UK or Age Concern, or call Age UK Advice, the
charity's free national advice line, on freephone 0800 169 65 65. The
charity has also launched an online "benefits checker" at www.ageuk/benefitschecker.
A
spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "Some
people still miss out despite our efforts to improve take-up. This is
exactly why we've set out proposals for reform including a single tier
state pension set above the level of the means test."
These findings are discouraging and should concern us. We know that
rising food and energy prices are hitting pensioners on a fixed budget
particularly hard. And it's not just in the UK. In the US, some outfits
like Shadow Government Statistics are pegging the true inflation rate closer to 10%.
While these statistics are popular with bloggers and doomsayers, I
think this is a gross exaggeration. If true inflation were closer to
10%, bond yields would have spiked regardless of QE2.
But we do know that people are paying more for groceries and to fill up their tank. In my conversation with Pierre Malo yesterday,
we talked about inflation. Pierre thinks it's inevitable that bond
yields will start rising as he feels inflation is understated. It most
certainly is but there is something we should all bear in mind: wages
aren't rising so rising food and gas prices act like a tax because
people have less discretionary income to spend on other items. That's
why I feel rising energy prices are ultimately deflationary, especially
if this is a long term secular trend due to shifting consumption
patterns in emerging markets (Pierre mentioned that Jeff Rubin is right but was too early in his call).
The
Fed's policies are exacerbating income inequality. Great for bankers,
Wall Street traders, and the rich who invest in stocks, terrible for
pensioners and families getting by on a modest budget. But there doesn't
seem to be a big concern about this widening divide, at least not yet.
In the meantime, more and more pensioners are living the dark reality of
pension poverty.
»
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Let the pensioners suffer. Some suffering needed before masses wake up...
Old fools keep voting conservatives into power to hold on to little they have and screw their children.
Leo wrote: "That's why I feel rising energy prices are ultimately deflationary"
Price changes are neither inflationary nor deflationary. You can have price decreases during inflation, and price increases during deflation.
What we have now are two forces pressuring the economy in different directions: the deflationary force destroying credit, and the inflationary force printing digital cash and monetizing debt.
The inevitable result will be reduced purchasing power for anyone on a fixed income, or without pricing power, whether we have inflation or deflation. Prepare accordingly.
And while most of the pensioners discussed above may well be living below the poverty line, I am not concerned, as they are all getting out of the system much more than they contributed. They should have saved more instead of voting themselves undeserved benefits at the expense of the next generation.
Though the actual amounts and who is elligible get little coverage in this debate, the UK state pension is not freely available but for those eligible and not wage related.
Quote: Reached StatePensionAge before 6 April 2010The full BasicStatePension is £102.15 ( about $140) per week and is payable if you have 39 qualifying years.
The minimum you can get is 25% of the full BasicStatePension. To get the minimum BSP, you will need to have at least 10 qualifying years. You will get a proportion of the full BSP of between 25% and 100%, depending on the number of qualifying years you have.
(above quoted from an advisory website)
It's only slightly different for those reaching the state Pension age after april 6 2010.,
"There is no longer a minimum requirement. You will therefore receive a proportionate BSP for the number of qualifying years your have. So, if you have 5 qualifying years, you will receive a BSP of 5/30ths of the full amount.".( equates to 17 pounds sterling per week : $23 at todays deflated USD.)
Government workers, civil servants and Members of Parliament do considerably better as they get wage related pensions ! !
If I have to choose whose money to take, I would take it from banksters before I would take it from seniors.
It never will be taken from either. It will be taken from people that work for a living.
I guess 40 years of empowering socialists has nothing to do with the situation?
Millions of 3rd world refugees now inhabiting the small island,housed, educated and fed
at tax payer expence while bringing what to the table?
Convenience stores,resteraunts and mosques, and don't forget the free medical,
And if the Pakistanis would stop marrying their first cousins, a few billion quid would be freed up each year, too much to ask though, tis a sad state of affairs.
I guess 40 years of empowering socialists has nothing to do with the situation?
Millions of 3rd world refugees now inhabiting the small island,housed, educated and fed
at tax payer expence while bringing what to the table?
Convenience stores,resteraunts and mosques, and don't forget the free medical,
And if the Pakistanis would stop marrying their first cousins, a few billion quid would be freed up each year, too much to ask though, tis a sad state of affairs.
Today, it's the wonders of QE f(x) x=1....101000000000000
on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 08:55
#1168339
I mean, half the reason to have kids is so someone can take care of you when you're unable to provide for yourself. Why are the elderly becoming wards of the state, like a bunch of orphaned children?
.
banks dont create prosperity anymore and with 40+ million americans on food stamps it isnt enough to educate the children as wards of the state... the elderly people dont pay taxes anymore and if the kids wont get a 4yr degree or purchase corporate health insurance... we have a war for that
.
global dynamcis are diversifying community, human rights, and laws until there are none
Well. I suppose if pentioners are distressed by their lot, the NHS would be happy to help them to a happier place...
tooo bad irresponsible policy coming out of WALL ST., GOVERNMENT & the FEDERAL RESERVE BANK is ruining the elderly . they did nothing to deserve this, most being prudent & salt-of-the earth people; our parents for god's sakes. these people did save......... but, when they come up against inflationary policies this is what happens to them, they get destroyed. Sound banking policy, paying interest on the money that they saved certainly would go a long way into restoring a decent elderly life for them.
lynnybee peace be to you. The charity system is criticized for two defects. One is the paucity of the means available. However, the more capitalism progresses and increases wealth, the more sufficient become the charity funds. As for me, my wife quit her job to dedicate herself to a sick family member and my parents are old, kids in college ect.. Hopefully the Consumer can buy our products we supply and still are. I work for the Company who serve faithfully the Customer who are in control until idea's seem to lets say get in the way of productfull people. We hear it all the time about how this and that control there idea's instead of thinking for themselves. We all see how money seems to work until it does not since Babylon. I would recommend thought on how they do not care since if they take it, they will never think clearly for themselves and not avarice. We had a discussion on cultural today. I refrained from comment since who in there right mind pulls the wolf's tail on today's ethics? Time cannot fix this issue since it was never about time, but control on what they feel you must do since in the long run as conveyed the baker is in good position as long as the tractor has fuel in today. I am from the farm but supply as many do products to serve the Consumer. I was admonished for having interest other than them. In time they may get it. I cannot acount for the idealist of Statist or some Corporatist over time who think they have a better idea to free trade and each other. I will be considered ruthless in honesty and keep the farm for such days as my forefathers fortold the nature of simple men who are worse than infidels not caring for there family in such times. Tax is another issue since the waste of capital and someday the old writing on the wall will appear again since really the creator of reality may or may not appear to sort it out sooner than later since the idiot children miss the point on the blue marble we call home for now. Until then I will never give up, they did....
Define poverty today? Unable to save in any time? Or depleted of the definition of a store of value today. We already know the consequnces short and long term of attitudes of policy.
Credit expansion and inflationary increase of the quantity of money frustrate the “common man’s” attempts to save and to accumulate reserves for less propitious days. But the other procedures of interventionism are hardly less injurious to the vital interests of the wage earners and salaried employees, the professions, and the owners of small-size business. The greater part of those assisted by charitable institutions are needy only because interventionism has made them so. At the same time inflation and the endeavors to lower the rate of interest below the potential market rates virtually expropriate the endowments of hospitals, asylums, orphanages, and similar establishments. As far as the welfare propagandists lament the insufficiency of the funds available for assistance, they lament one of the results of the policies that they themselves are advocating. The second defect charged to the charity system is that it is charity and compassion only. The indigent has no legal claim to the kindness shown to him. He depends on the mercy of benevolent people, on the feelings of tenderness which his distress arouses. What he receives is a voluntary gift for which he must be grateful. To be an almsman is shameful and humiliating. It is an unbearable condition for a self-respecting man.
Human Action
"..some outfits like Shadow Government Statistics are pegging the true inflation rate closer to 10%. While these statistics are popular with bloggers and doomsayers, I think this is a gross exaggeration.."
Do you do the inflation sums yourself Leo to be fully informed that this is a "gross exaggeration" or are you pissing in the wind with another lame hunch of yours?
If you're going to question John Williams at SGS who produces the most accurate stat's in the US on all manner of Govt numbers then shouldn't you produce some maths yourself to suport your accusation??
Regards "doomsayers" presumably you're in the happy chappy euphoric camp then... this slight will boomerang back and hit you in your sunny outlook arse
"The Fed's policies are exacerbating income inequality... terrible for pensioners and families getting by on a modest budget.."
Income inequality comes about because some people don't look after themselves, or spend every buck they earn, and others are more sensible. The 'gap' shows some people should pull their heads out of their arses and stop relying on the totally untrustworthy Govt to live up to their promises (never ever trust a politician, they are pure scum).
So rather than address income inequality (are we Communists Leo?) why don't you address why some people have made little provision for their later lives. Don't expect those that have tucked away savings to be robbed by socialists like you to bailout those who have not. Your labels get dumb and dumber Mr Kockupalot
Why did my parents & grandparents have a nice retirement ? I do not remember any of this bullshit happening in the 1950's - 1990's. My parents had Social Security, they had savings accounts & certificates of deposits earning interest & my Dad always had a stable job at a good wage so he was able to pay off a mortage & save for retirement.
Somewhere along the line the powers-that-be decided that the American middle class just had tooooo much wealth & they wanted to change that.
Just go back to the normal banking practices of paying interest on deposit & we'll all be doing a lot better.
''I do not remember any of this bullshit happening in the 1950's - 1990's''
They had JOBS, lived within their means, and stock market was on a secular uptrend!!!
yes ....... they had jobs. & no, the stock market was stuck in a narrow range ....... & people did not really invest in stocks, they simply deposited their savings into bank accounts & earned interest. & yes, they did live prudently. & yes, credit was frowned upon. does anyone remember the days ...... if you had to ask for credit, you were looked down upon ?
banks were the institutions that promoted credit, first responsible credit, then, unlimited credit to less & less worthy borrowers. BANKS & GOVERNMENT together created an atmosphere of anything goes credit.
let us go back to the days of local banks that serve a utilitarian purpose & money that is worthy of garnering interest paid.................
I can still remember being taught in school, "the wonders of compound interest."
I know my father worked as an electrician for 40 years, paid the bills, paid taxes, and in his whole life bought exactly one new car, a Pontiac sedan at the age of sixty.
My parents worked and saved, and when they retired had a house paid for, a car paid for, his army pension, a pension from work, old age pension and they were comfortable. Even had enough money to buy a motorhome and go south for a couple of months every year.
Now some people are saying that is too much for anyone to expect when we have banksters whose yachts are too short.
"Now some people are saying that is too much for anyone to expect when we have banksters whose yachts are too short."
Guess what? Back in the 50s and 60s people with pensions didn't live to 100-120 years old. If people want to retire in style for a few years on a pension, that's fine with me, but there needs to be a cut-off and people need to insure against their own longevity risks.
When you grow up, your heart dies.
It maybe that the real solution to 'old age' poverty is the traditional one. A strong family with more than one child. The modern welfare state has broken that model by discouraging child bearing for the middle class and encouraging it for the parasite class.
That needs to change or developed nations will die. We need to reduce taxes on young middle class families in return for a higher birth rate and, OTOH, eliminate the child as an 'entitlement' for the poor. Scrap state pensions and demand people provide for themselves. Recreate the glue that used to hold society together. It is absurd to imagine a people in a developed economy cannot do what people must in poorer nations.
Expect plenty of junks from the crowd on this site.
people junk tooo much / we're all different & all have different opinions & ways of looking at the world. some of us are extremely intelligent & knowledgeable on this website, while others (like me) are trying hard just to learn & understand what is happening to us. the only time i junk someone is if they are swearing toooo much.
I have read your posts (from Ohio, I believe?) and rarely do junk others. I don't care about swearing so much, though I do try to pick the debate up a notch from the gutter. However, you must understand that the older generations in the UK and in the US were sold down the road with let it all hang out and why don't we do it in the road. That much is understood.
Such a selfish generation may be said to have done it to themselves, and that much is true, too. But, when it comes to people unable to heat their homes and having to choose between their medications all because some of their generation decided it would be best to take and take and take until there is nothing else to take, the younger of us- the more compassionate of us, for our parents- must draw the line.
Blanche duBois said it best when she said, "Deliberate cruelty is the one unforgivable thing and is something for which I have never been guilty."
Sorry but, "Let them eat cat food," is unacceptable to me. I'll junk their asses all the days long.
Chart of price changes of things we need vs things we want.
http://goldandsilverlinings.com/?p=635
As speculators extract more and more money from the real economy, as bankers squeeze the last drop of money from the populace, the majority of people is still caught up in the bad government / good government debate.
Wake up people, this fight is between 95% of us and the 5% that is getting the time of their life.
They pit young workers against retirees, citizens against their representative, left against right, all the while leading their sheep to slaughter.
This is a fight about QUALITY OF LIFE for 95% of us, not chasing the dream of riches that will happen, at best, only for 5% of us.
A strong Country needs a strong middle class! A strong country provides good quality of life.
"Wake up people, this fight is between 95% of us and the 5% that is getting the time of their life."
You forget all the governmnet workers so add another 20-30% to that 5%
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Who gives a damn about how the pensioners are 'getting by' it's every1 personal reposibility to take care of them selves, if you borrow to go on a vacation or to buy an IPad you have to right to complain, even if not you make a decent wage and control your spending it's NO1 responsibility how you're 'getting by' when old
The viewpoint fails to account for an economic environment that prohibits wage earning sufficient to generate enough retained savings to survive after being unable to continue work. While I agree with the general proposition that each should be responsible for his own, I think we have to take each on a case by case basis... And, generally speaking, if you have a pension, you probably could have better accounted for your financial affairs (i.e. less consumption/better investment, etc.)... but, that is not necessarily the case for all and it is probably unfair to throw the baby out with the bath water.
and fails to account for the fact that my 79 year old mother is hardly equipted to juggle her savings to escape being financially raped by Bernanke and Blankfein. So, yeah, now she has a nice nest egg in CDs (which now yield something around 1%) and blue chip stocks (which have all cut their dividends) and some bonds (God help her) and you're saying it's her fault for not planning better? Just what did you expect? That every senior out there can manager a portfolio better than Larry Summers? That she should shuffle down to Wal-Mart and get a job greeting?
I expected YOU to help your mother.
Hey sorry, but when some idiot plays 3-card monty in times square and gets ripped off, the taxpayer doesn't make them whole. That's what's happened here. The older generation let Bernanke, Blankfein and the rest scam them into accepting the ponzi system.
These boys are twisted. Wrap your heads around cat food for dinner, not a new iPad2, ye dolts!
They paid into the system with the promise of compounding as long as they worked and now what? Do you know how long it takes to get a council flat; the red tape; the bullshit?
Think these people chose to do it this way, even after the Merv gave away all their gold? Chris'sakes, get a grip!
Ok... did you tell your grandmother about her folly? Or did you just let her keep thrashing about the water figuring she would learn to swim eventually? So your grandmother is incapable of hiring someone else to perform this work for her? That ALL of the available persons to do so are dishonest?
I guess the next question should be... does your grandmother plan on coming to my house and taking her sustenance money from me? Or is she going to let the state do that? Do you think the rest of young taxpayers have no limit or breaking point before heading to parts unknown in seek of tax shelters?
The point is this... I was fucked before I was born... your grandma wasn't... she watched the whole fucking thing go down... and, more importantly, rode the wave of fraudulent prosperity... that is not my problem. Further, who better than a child of the depression to know better?
Thankfully, you've not a clue what you're talking about.
She was married before the war to a dashing and bright gentleman, a pilot in the armed services. After bombing Italy for a while, he was basically a drunkard and went east to bomb some orientals. When he came back home, he was nothing like the man she had married.
She eventually divorced him with two children and married a nice man who made newspapers. They never had that much to begin with and slowly ran out of that as his health deteriorated.
She was in and out of the hospital with pneumonia, which eventually took her life. Excuse me but I never had time to sit down and educate her about buying stock in pets.com.
My bad.
You know, it's one thing to be all for free markets and capitalist ideals, which I am wholeheartedly. It is completely another to have elders' share of what built this world taken from people who did what they were told to do and then have a bunch of smart-ass whippersnappers tell me I should have educated my grandmother about unforeseen and still unbelievable events sponsored by Bush, Paulson and every central bank on the planet.
Sure, they should have known. Again, my bad. Now, can you show a bit of compassion for their plight and at least have pity on those without much of anything at all?
Is it really too much to ask?
First, it was the poster before you that talked about family, so thanks for the familial lesson...
Second, compassion is useless without the means to act upon it. What you're arguing is to be the thought police. I hate (enjoy) breaking it to you, but the emperor has no clothes... and without any ability to generate any semblance of discretionary income, you're pushing on a string to try and get younger generations to pay for the mistakes of our elders... [aside from the whole WANT to pay for it issue]. If you want to complain about a problem that you cannot solve, then fine... be my guest... but I have better things to do.
Third, what was the lesson from Enron's stakeholders? How many news stories did we hear about "I had all my retirement in Enron stock, etc."? Well, diversity isn't an old wooden ship used in the civil war era... If you want to rely on counterparties, that's your business... If you are forced against your will to contribute to something that will in all likelihood be taken from you, then you have a moral obligation to all persons you may be responsible for as well as to all those who may be responsible for you to avoid those payments, seek an alternative path, and prepare accordingly... What I'm heaing is the ol' nazi officer defense, "i was just following my marching orders"... burying my head in the sand... (my apologies on the nazi reference, it's academically... cheap).
that's fine, but don't attempt to beg the gun to come find me, turn me upside down, and shake the pennies from my pockets. If the elderly want their entitlements, then they need to demand prosecutions of the elite... they need to demand clawbacks of illgotten gains during the crackup. (of course, this would require a paradigm shift given the elderly have enjoyed the superficial runup given their benefits therefrom). But don't come knocking on my door as I don't fall into any of those categories.
+
interesting, all he does is count it the way they used to in the 80's and nobody was shouting about it being inaccurate then?
obviously it's much more convenient to mess about with the stats to make it look like theyre doing a better job though, rather than have to face the truth.
USA is not far behind. Too many bubbles that is gonna to POP
Placing the Blame as Students Are Buried in Debt
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/your-money/student-loans/29money.html...
what do you expect, look how much money being spent on the royal wedding instead of feeding children.
The elderly are still selfish, saying they " earned" their social security and medicare even though it pays out more to most people than they could ever make in a private investment account.
I guess that belief makes the financially naive feel better about looting their children and grandchildren's future
Not elderly yet. But I will be, just like you. And since I've been paying SS tax my entire life (okay, didn't start working until I was 16), why haven't I earned it?
What anyone has, or has not, earned is beside the point. What may have been 'earned' is gone, squandered, stolen, wasted. Welcome to Utopia.
You have, the problem is that your claim to SS has a counterparty... and that counterparty is insolvent.
But, with the magic of compounding interest, it goes right into Jamie Dimon's pocket.
Surely, you're glad about that!
/:
Seriously, this is some sick shit.
This. At what point do people ever become accountable? At what point do people say, we fucked up and accept the consequences? It's like government money is magic and free lunches abound... are they finally going to feel bad about their actions when the youth grow up in a ghetto and what meager income is available is stolen by the government? Shared misery is a necessity?
But the old people were accountable. They did work, pay taxes, contribute to society and to social programs. Now after a lifetime of contributing they expect to get what they were promised.
How do you expect to fund your retirement? Is your income so lush you can save up enough to live on?
Try some basic math. If you save up $1,000,000 and invest it in GICs at 2% you will get $20,000 a year. Do you think of someone who makes $385 a week as having a millionaire's income? How many millions do you think you can save up before you retire? What will your retirement look like if you have only what you can save and invest? If you have bad luck or bad health and wind up with less than enough to live on do you suggest the rest of us casually watch you starve to death?
No, they were not accountable. Even if you presume they were held at gunpoint to deposit money in a retirement fund, they are, at the very least, politically apathetic... again, a refusal to be accountable.
Further, those who pay into a pension are probably making incomes far greater than your skid row junkie...
In addition, why should anyone put all their eggs in one basket? What is wrong with investment in a business? PMs? Farms? Rental real estate? The problem here is that people throw a little money into an account and expect it to provide for them in perpetuity... that they actually sacrificed something... well, let's add up all the sodas they drank in restaurants over a lifetime... would that help their current situation?
So we are to live our entire lives hoping to be a detriment to society upon our retirement? The fact that we KNOW we did not tuck away enough or in the proper vehicle to account for basic and expected economic changes? We watch the printing all the way down and do nothing to hedge or to change it?
Do we want to reward this behavior in our society? Is this moral hazard defined?
None of us expect to fund a retirement. Because we are funding YOURS. We expect to work until we die, unless we can change the system.
As a private sector worker, I have to save 50 years worth of income to maintain my current income level in retirement (and that's assuming tax rates do not go up further...fat chance).