Inflation at 5.1% is another blow to pensioners
- Latest inflation numbers show State Pension rise of 3.1% will leave poorest pensioners struggling.
- Pensioners have been stripped of the protection they were promised and many will struggle to afford heating.
- The poorest pensioners have lost the earnings inflation protection for Pension Credit that was in law for around 20 years.
The latest inflation figures showing CPI inflation reached a two-year high of 5.1% last month, confirm again that the 3.1% increase for State Pensions is completely inadequate to protect pensioners.
Those who are wholly reliant on State benefits have been left without the protection they were promised from the triple lock at the last election and by British law for the past few decades.
The poorest pensioners have been covered by an earnings uprating provision for Pension Credit since it was introduced in 2003.
How will pensioners afford to heat their homes when so many were already struggling, 2 million are living in poverty and 1 million are in extreme fuel poverty.
As the house of Lords clearly warned, the September CPI figure was artificially low and was not appropriate to use for uprating. The upward bias of the earnings inflation figure could have been adjusted for and the poorest pensioners would not have suffered in the way they will be doing in the coming year.
Government needs to offer more protection for at least the poorest pensioners – those who are oldest in particular, the majority of whom are women.
An extra payment to recognise the extreme inflation situation may be needed to avoid more pensioners dying over the next year as they cannot afford adequate heating and sustenance.
There is no sign of an end to inflation pressures. As energy and raw material prices keep rising, while global supply chain pressures increase, the poorest pensioners who generally have little or no other incomes, the plight of millions of pensioners will keep worsening. These citizens are not well off and need Government protection to survive.
2 thoughts on “Inflation at 5.1% is another blow to pensioners”
I totally agree with you .I fear for the Pensioners living abroad on frozen pensions .Some of these Pensioners are on very low Pensions.It is about time this was stopped, This policy is outdated .I also would like to mention the Pensioners on the old pre April 6th 2016 Rate of approx £137 a week opposed to those post April 16 on £179 a week.The 3.1% actual increase will be much lower on the old rate than on the new 6/4/16 rate and that causes the gap between the two rates to widen further every year leaving the Pensioners on the old rate much worse off. ..The Government always use the Higher rate Pension as an example ..as to deflect from those on the lower rate or live abroad .To my mind everyone should get the same monetary value increase .A man born in 1952 is on the Higher Rate and a Women born in 1952 is on the Lower Rate .None of this is about equality . I have sent messages to Rishi Sunak and Therese Coffey .It seems they are not interested or going to take any notice on why the Pensioners are fighting for Justice
Its abhorent
how they are trying to save money off the backs of Pensioners
Thank you for taking the time to read this .Its going to be a bad and hard financial year for most older Pensioners .
So the triple lock would have worked had everyone not abandoned their support six months ago. How foolish do they feel now?