Thousands of pensioners are going without hot meals and baths, as they ration their energy usage in the face of spiraling bills, Britain’s biggest charity for the elderly has warned.
Age UK has warned Cabinet ministers that pensioners faced the most difficult and frightening winter of their lives.”
Experts have predicted the energy crisis will cause bills to soar as much as 50pc in the spring – adding around £600 to average household costs.
This is the equivalent of spending an extra £1 in every £15 of the full state pension, worth less than £180 a week, on energy.
It is likely to be a significant underestimation for many elderly people who typically feel the cold more and require extra heating, the charity said.
It comes as pensioners are already under pressure from rising inflation, which is increasing the costs of living faster than state retirement incomes will rise this year.
These rising costs, combined with tax rises and higher interest rates have led economists to warn of the worst cost of living crunch for a generation.
In a letter to the ministers for business and for pensions, Age UK said thousands of senior citizens were already feeling the pinch including those “who are too worried to use their oven and are living off soup and sandwiches instead; showering only every two days rather than daily; and constantly watching their smart meter and turning their heating off once their daily spending exceeds the meager limit they have set.”
The charity’s director Caroline Abrahams said the elderly urgently needed reassurance they could afford to keep warm without going into debt.
“These huge energy price rises have come like a bolt from the blue for many older people on low incomes, for whom this winter is shaping up to be one of the most difficult and frightening they have experienced during their long lives,” she said.
“Even as the mortal risk from Covid-19 appears to be receding, the prospect of not having the funds to stay adequately warm seems to be replacing it. It’s a perfect storm.”
Campaigners have called for the 5pc VAT rate on heating bills to be scrapped, which would knock £100 off an annual bill of £2,000, although Boris Johnson has rejected the idea saying it would not benefit those most in need.
Other suggestions include widening the support for those on the lowest incomes, which the Government is understood to be considering.
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Gore the Bore has said Sacrifices must be made but is not willing to do so himself