Age Concern calls for basic pension increase

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Age Concern is calling for the government to raise the basic state pension.

The charity is asking the amount to be raised to at least £109 a week so that all old people can afford to heat their homes during the cold winter period.

Age Concern says that over 150,000 people over 65 have died in the last five years as a result of the cold weather.

New research suggests that 10 per cent of pensioners who call Age Concern are finding they cannot afford to pay their mortgages or other debts, such as credit card bills.

"Reasons for older people building up significant debts include the need for home improvements and a range of unsecured borrowings, such as credit cards and personal loans, which have built up over time," said Phil Veale, financial services development manager at Age Concern.

"We have examples of people - by no means isolated cases - of 80-year-old home-owners who are struggling to clear their mortgages."

The charity reports that Britain has one of the highest rates of winter deaths in Europe and it is urging the government to raise the basic state pension to make sure the problem does not continue at the same rate.

Recently, the Met Office has been predicting that Britain is going to experience the worst winter in at least a decade, which together with the soaring cost of fuel exacerbates the pension problem.