Pensions & Benefits
Nine out of ten older people say their lives would be worse without a bus pass, according to Age UK poll.
- Tuesday, 14 May 2013
New polling by Age UK has revealed that 93 per cent of older people who own a concessionary bus pass say losing it would adversely affect their life.
The survey carried out on behalf of the charity by research agency TNS also found that 83 per cent of older people on lower incomes had a concessionary pass.
The figures are evidence of the vital role of concessionary bus passes and reliable bus services in enabling older people to remain independent and lead fulfilling lives as well as helping to prevent isolation and loneliness.
Welsh pensioners more likely to cut back on heating and eating
- Friday, 10 May 2013
Age Cymru encourages pensioners to claim their benefits
RISING living costs have seen more pensioners in Wales cutting back on heating and eating than anywhere else in Britain - that’s according to Age Cymru.
Figures released by the charity show that 26 per cent of Welsh pensioners reduced their heating over the winter months because they are worried about the cost of living, compared with a GB average of 21 per cent.
LGA's response to Social Care Funding: A Bleak Outlook is getting Bleaker
- Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Responding to the ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) annual survey, “Social Care Funding: A Bleak Outlook is getting Bleaker”, Cllr Zoe Patrick, Chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Local authorities are already facing an estimated £1.89 billion reduction in funding to provide support for vulnerable residents. Taking a further £800 million out of the system threatens to severely impact on the vital support many older and disabled people rely on in their day-to-day lives such as basic help with washing, getting out of bed and the provision of meals on wheels.
Lack of transport leaves elderly trapped in own homes
- Friday, 19 April 2013
Thousands of over-75s are becoming increasingly isolated and “trapped in their own homes” because of transport cuts and unsuitable bus services.
A damning report has revealed that one in seven pensioners have been directly affected by budget cuts which have had a “devastating impact” on their “sense of happiness and well-being”.
At least 10 per cent now claim they leave the house less because they have no way of getting anywhere by themselves, and no one to help them.
Older people now feel they have lost their independence as a result - which has led to a dramatic increase in reports of loneliness and isolation.
Confusion and uncertainty over pensions leave many in a muddle
- Thursday, 11 April 2013
A shift in working cultures and confusion around retirement planning is resulting in a pension ‘black hole’, with almost a quarter (23 per cent) of UK adults stating they have lost track of at least one pension scheme – according to a new online poll for Age UK.
The poll, commissioned to understand more about people’s attitudes and plans for retirement, reveals that nearly a third (30 per cent) of UK adults would try to trace a pension if they realised they had lost track of it. However, people are unsure about how and where to start hunting these pensions down.
New state pension plan still unfair
- Thursday, 04 April 2013
Britain’s biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has criticised the latest report from the Work and Pensions Committee for failing to highlight the unfairness contained in the government’s plans to introduce a single-tier state pension of £144 a week from 2016.
The NPC claims that future generations will end up getting less pension than under the present system, but have to pay more for it and work longer before they can receive it, whilst existing pensioners – many of whom would benefit from an increase in their state pension – will be completely excluded from the changes.
Budget announcement 'less Aspiration Nation more Aspirin Nation'
- Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Britain’s biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has said today’s Budget announcement was less “Aspiration Nation” and more “Aspirin Nation” given that it will have left millions of older people with a severe financial headache on issues such as pensions and social care.
A television company needs you!
- Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Twenty Twenty is making a ground-breaking living history documentary series about welfare.
We’re inviting people of a pensionable age who are receiving benefits in the Nottinghamshire area to experience how life would have been for them when the welfare state was first created.
Interested? Want to find out more?
TV programme did not present balanced view of pensioner benefits
- Tuesday, 19 March 2013
The National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP) is disappointed with the recent Channel 4 Dispatches programme ‘Rich and on Benefits’.
Whilst NFOP accepts that the programme did not set out to portray a balanced view on the subject of universal benefits, NFOP is disturbed by Channel 4’s apparent willingness to further a damaging misconception that pensioners, as a group, are financially secure.
More Articles...
- Wealthy pensioners could be taxed on benefits to help growth
- Elderly deeply concerned about proposed cuts
- Consumers not getting a fair deal on pensions
- Is there sufficient protection for women and carers?
- Hats off to Steve Webb for our new pensions system!
- Pension White Paper offers nothing for existing pensioners and “cons” future generations
- Removing winter fuel allowance not the care funding solution
- Pensioners' organisation says former minister’s care plan “doesn’t add up”
- New Year Message from Age Cymru
