UK | Age UK has called for more action to tackle and prevent seniors from falling into poverty in later life amid high statistics.
Age UK has warned that there is no room for complacency when it comes to reducing poverty among our growing older population and calls on the Government to do more to address it.
Around one in six, equivalent to 1.9 million, pensioners already live in poverty, and the Charity is worried that unless something changes, these numbers are set to pass the two million mark within the next few years.
According to new Age UK analysis of ONS population projection data, there will be an additional 117,000 people of State Pension age in 2026, bringing the total of UK pensioners in 2026 to 12.7 million.
By 2030, ONS population projections show there will be four percent increase or 481,000 more people of State Pension age compared to 2025, amounting to an estimated total of just over 13 million pensioners in the UK by the end of the decade. The worry is that without concerted action to address low incomes the numbers living in poverty will rise too.
Of course, financial hardship isn’t only influenced by people’s income, it’s also partly determined by their costs. For those older people who rely on the State Pension as their main source of income, increases in energy, food and rent significantly impact their standard of living.
Under the latest energy price cap fuel bills are now GBP 1,758 annually (current energy price cap), accounting for 15 percent of a full new State Pension and an even greater proportion for the very significant numbers of pensioners who receive less than this amount. Over 4.4 million people, or 33 percent, of those receiving a State Pension, receive less in State Pension than the full value of a new State Pension.
Four years into the cost-of-living crisis, Age UK continues to hear about the drastic measures some older people are taking to make ends meet. New polling for Age UK found that one in three, equivalent to 4.3 million, told Age UK they will use less electricity this winter for this reason. Two million said they will be having baths or showers less often, and 690,000 said they will be skipping meals this winter to make ends meet.
As part of Age UK’s Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight campaign, the Charity strongly encourages new and existing pensioners in 2026 to check what financial support they may be eligible for, including Pension Credit, which tops up people’s income to a minimum level and acts as a gateway to other financial help in later life.
More than GBP 3 billion in benefits that older people are entitled to went unclaimed in the most recent year for which figures are available. Many older people miss out on financial support simply because they assume they won’t qualify, or find it daunting and difficult to complete applications without help. Age UK’s new research found that one in four, equivalent to 3.2 million older people, do not know which benefits, such as Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, which they may be entitled to, yet for those struggling to receive them could make a big difference.
Successfully claiming Pension Credit, in particular, can be transformational for any older person whose low fixed income is failing to keep pace with the cost of living. However, take-up of Pension Credit among older people actually went down, rather than up, in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Age UK analysis of DWP estimates found there is a substantial increase, an additional 120,000, in pensioners who are not receiving the Pension Credit for which they are eligible. It also found a substantial increase in the average amount pensioners were missing out on, from GBP 37 to GBP 50 per week, bringing the overall amount of unclaimed Pension Credit to GBP 2.1 billion, a massive and heartbreaking 60 percent increase on the previous year.
The latest available statistics show nearly two in five of those eligible to claim Pension Credit, 38 percent, equivalent to one million pensioners, are missing out on average GBP 50 per week or GBP 2600 per year, with many also not accessing other passported benefits such as council tax discount, help with energy costs, a free TV licence for over 75s and more.
It’s worth noting that a particularly high number of single women (470,000) are not receiving Pension Credit, far higher than single men (150,000) and couples (200,000).
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