UK | Age UK is concerned that three in four seniors said their houses were cold most or all the time, more than what is desired.
New research for the Charity Age UK has revealed that three in four (75 percent - equivalent to 9.1 million) aged 66 and over said that their homes were cold, more than they would like them to be some, most of or all of the time.
For those pensioners on low to modest household incomes of £20,000 or less, a massive one in three (35 percent) said their home was too cold most or all of the time.
A similar proportion of older private renters, one in three (34 percent), also said their home was cold most or all of the time.
On the day Age UK delivers its 650,056 strong Save the Winter Fuel Payment for struggling pensioners petition to No.10 Downing Street, these findings for the Charity highlighted the significant pressures being felt by many pensioners this winter. Two in five (41 percent) pensioners said that they had recently had to cut back on heating or powering their home – equivalent to 5 million.
Nearly half (48 percent) of people aged 66+ revealed they were worried about being able to heat their homes when they wanted to, and 44 percent told Age UK they’re worried about the impact of energy prices on their health – noticeably higher than last year (January 2024) when one in three (33 percent) said they were worried about this.
As part of its campaign, Age UK launched a nationwide petition calling for the Government to halt their proposed change to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) and think again. The Charity strongly opposed the cut to the WFP and repeatedly warned that at least 2.5 million older people would struggle without it and wouldn’t be able to afford to stay adequately warm in their homes.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said this is the first January since the Government decided to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) and it is a national scandal that so many older people are saying they are cold in their own homes, some, most or all of the time.
“The position of those on lower incomes is worse still, with one in three saying they are cold at home most or all of the time. Rising energy prices are an important reason for this, but there's no doubt that the changes to eligibility for Winter Fuel Payment are also contributing, both directly and also through sapping the confidence of many older people to run their heating when it’s bitterly cold, for fear of an unaffordable bill,” said Abrahams.
“Today we will present Age UK’s #SaveWinterFuelPayment petition to No 10, backed by 650,056 people. Our petition shows the strength of support behind our Winter Fuel Payment campaign and we hope the Government will listen and commit to further action so we don’t see a repeat of this fiasco next year.”
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